Amnesia
by The Reading Cat
Summary: Sakura wakes up in the hospital with little knowledge of her past. Will she recover her lost memories? Or will she just have to start a new life with old friends? If she can't remember, it may just put her and Naruto's lives in danger. NaruSaku.
1. Who are you? Who am I?

**Amnesia**

Chapter 1: Who Are You? Who Am I?

* * *

><p>When Sakura woke up, she didn't feel well-rested. Consciousness descended like a heavy fog in her mind. She couldn't remember what she did last night and this felt like an unfamiliar place. Her eyes still closed, she breathed in deeply through her nose before exhaling slowly in an attempt to calm herself, to make sense of her position. There was a regular beeping noise that thrummed behind her, but apart from that, silence. Struggling, but clawing together the energy to open her eyes, Sakura blinked up at a whitewashed ceiling.<p>

It didn't just feel like an unfamiliar place, it was. This wasn't her bedroom.

Pushing herself up in the bed that she found herself in, she froze. Her gaze instantly settled on a young male blond in front of her. He was leant over the front of the bed, his hands settled on the mattress as he observed her. There was a vacant stool behind him, and another to the right side of her bed, but two people stood watching.

There was another tall blonde woman in the corner of the room, next to a wide window, but it was the person sat on her bed, rather close to her, that she decided to stare at - he was giving her a funny look, and she eyed him awkwardly.

Now she was highly confused. She had no idea where she was or what she was doing here.

"Sakura, are you all right?" the male asked, worry lacing his tone, concern all over his facial features.

Unique facial features, she noted. Bold lines were very prominent on his face, like whisker marks engraved in his cheeks. He had blond spiky hair and sharp blue eyes, with which he studied her intensely, waiting for an answer. She blinked, pulling herself out of her thoughts when she realised he had asked her a question.

"Huh? What?" Sakura tilted her head, still bemused. She had never seen this guy before and yet here he was, all up in her face like a worried family member. "Where am I?"

"The hospital, Sakura, you hit your head pretty hard and well...you've been asleep for a long time, we were really worried about you," he said slowly, his gaze not moving from her puzzled face.

The hospital. That made sense. The whole room was a sterile white, it even _smelt_ clean. She glanced behind her, just to her left, to see a machine that was attached to her arm through a taped drip. It looked like a heart rate monitor...or perhaps life support. A horizontal line on the small screen peaked and troughed and as it did so, it beeped. She watched it; the repetitive pattern was strangely comforting.

For some reason, the realisation of waking up in a hospital room didn't freak her out that much – but it was probably due to the fact everything was slightly blurry and she wasn't fully with it. This could be a dream. It was also likely that they had her on some kind of drugs.

"...Sakura-chan?" the male spoke again, he sounded even more worried now. He leant a little closer, attempting to catch and hold her attention.

She looked back at him. Who was he and what he was doing here? He looked as tired as she felt, and he didn't look much older than a teenager. He wasn't smartly dressed. His jacket was black and orange...but maybe he was her doctor. His worry would be justified then. His casual appearance was likely why she wasn't that frightened by her situation. The whole white lab coat would have made her more concerned.

Sakura let her gaze drift back to the tall woman stood in the corner of the room. Now _she_ looked professional - she was smartly dressed and leant against the wall with her arms crossed, her face completely blank, a business-like manner about her. Sakura gathered she was the boss.

Having someone so serious watching over her instantly made her feel wary. This wasn't anything to feel comfortable about. Her thoughts were just a scattered mess. As she began to feel more awake, the fog in her mind was replaced with a growing, dull ache.

She looked back at the male again. If her theory was correct and the woman behind him was the boss, she doubted someone dressed like he was would even get a job here. Everything about the blonde woman screamed experienced and serious, he looked stressed - as if he was going to burst at any moment. He had said they were worried about her, who was 'we'? The doctors?

"Are you a doctor?" she asked him, finally voicing her question.

"No, Sakura, if anything you're the doctor, right?" His eyes widened before he glanced at the woman behind him. He looked even more baffled than she felt.

This added to her confusion. She sat up straighter and stared at him, waiting for him to correct what he had said – but he didn't. He stared at the taller lady, waiting for some kind of explanation that she did not give.

The woman remained silent for several moments, before both heads turned back to see Sakura's ever-growing bewilderment.

"How am I the doctor?" she questioned slowly, not understanding what he was talking about, or what either of the strangers were seemingly sharing thoughts about.

The big blonde woman stepped forward and leant over her bed. Moving closer and studying her face (in a way that was a little intimidating), she asked, "Sakura, do you know who I am?"

As Sakura stared at her, she tried to think of where she had seen her before, but she couldn't put a name to her face. She didn't know who she was. "...No."

The blonde closed her eyes and shook her head before looking at her again and telling her flatly, "Sakura, I'm afraid you are dealing with memory loss."

No... She just didn't know who this woman was. Sakura frowned back, unhappy with the analogy. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Sakura...I've been your mentor for years." The woman pointed at the other guy. "Naruto has been your teammate and friend for even longer!"

Mentor. Teammate. Friend. No - she definitely didn't know them and certainly hadn't for _years_.

Sakura turned to look at this Naruto guy again, greeting him sheepishly. "Umm, OK, hi...Naruto." She tested his name out.

Was this a practical joke? It had to be a dream. That would explain the whole situation perfectly - her foggy brain, these strange people. This wasn't real. She would close her eyes and wake up at home...Wait. _Where did she live again? _She was having a complete mind block that was making her feel extremely uncomfortable. She swallowed.

"Sakura, what is the last thing you remember?" her 'mentor' asked curiously.

Right...the last thing she could remember... She internally panicked. Her breathing increased as her mind began to race. _What the hell did she do before she hit her head? Sakura. Sakura what? _She racked her brains feverishly. _What was her name? Who was she?_

Nothing. She remembered _nothing_.

"I don't know... What's my second name?" She asked, her voice slightly shaky as she tried to keep her confusion and increasing anguish in check.

"Haruno," the blonde told her firmly.

"Sakura Haruno," she murmured to herself. "My name is Sakura Haruno."

* * *

><p>"Sakura!" Another blonde girl ran into the room and charged at her bed. She was loud, bubbly and seemingly very happy to see her. "You're awake, Forehead!"<p>

Sakura wrinkled her nose at the name and repeated in distaste, "Forehead?"

"Yeah, you and your big-"

"Ino," her 'mentor' interjected.

"Tsunade-sama?" The newcomer smiled.

Right, so... Tsunade-sama, Naruto and Ino, and she was Sakura Haruno. Now she definitely had a headache. The ache from before was increasing by the second. She brought her hand to her head and then frowned. 'Ino' just called her 'Forehead'! That was really mean. Who did she think she was?

'Tsunade-sama' reached for a clipboard at the end of her bed and scribbled on the chart before handing it to the mean girl. Ino's eyes widened as she read it and then looked up to stare at her in surprise. "Sakura...you idiot."

_Now she was an idiot too?_ She frowned at the girl again, irked by the rude attitude. Ino had no right to call her such things. What did the chart say that warranted such remarks?

"Can I have a look at the chart?" Sakura asked, trying to peer at the written notes, curiously replacing anger.

"No." Ino shook her head, holding the documents away from her. Her happy and teasing mood seemed to have vanished altogether.

Sakura didn't know how much this girl knew about her, but maybe she could trick Ino into giving her the chart.

"But I'm a doctor," she said with a weak smile.

Ino hesitated, but the other woman took the chart out of the younger girl's hands and mumbled, "We told her that."

Sakura stared at the people in front of her. As she studied them, she tried to place them in her memories. None of them fitted in with her past or her life. She knew nothing about the older medic. She would definitely remember her if she had seen her before. Her personality was unforgettable. And _she_ was her _mentor_? She had no idea why someone like Tsunade would agree to teach her anything.

What would she even mentor her in? Medical science? Being a doctor was a fancy job...for someone smart and skilled. Although Sakura would admit it was a cool profession, she couldn't see herself achieving something like that. Something so...important.

She felt like she had seen Naruto and Ino before... Something about them was familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on where or when she may have come across them. They could have younger family members that she had met at one point, or just passed in the streets. She could almost imagine them a few years younger. If she imagined them shorter, younger...yes.

"Do you have younger brothers and sisters?" Sakura studied the two teenagers with deep interest.

"No, we're both only children, why?" Ino raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Oh," Sakura shrugged nonchalantly, "you looked familiar."

"How old do you think you are, Sakura?" Tsunade asked with a face like stone.

"Aren't you supposed to tell me that?" Sakura murmured. She looked down at her hands and arms, her confusion growing by the minute. She felt tall in this bed, and if the boy was her friend, he looked quite a bit older than she felt. "Well... I'd say eight but..."

"Eight," the older blonde repeated with narrowed eyes. "Sakura, try eigh_teen_."

"Eighteen...yeah right." She snorted out a laugh – that was just crazy. Eighteen? Now she knew they were pulling her leg.

"Naruto, Ino, step outside a moment, I need to talk to you," Tsunade ordered sharply, turning away from her and abruptly exiting the room.

Both Naruto and Ino glanced at her before leaving the room also. Naruto was the last one to go. She smiled at him awkwardly; his eyes didn't leave her until the door shut completely.

She was alone.

* * *

><p>Only a minute after the squad of blondes had left, did a tall, older man come in, he was wearing a mask, his hair a spiky grey.<p>

Her eyes widened. Was he another doctor? The mask was a little off-putting - maybe he was a surgeon. She spotted a Konoha headband over his left eye. She thought that was a little weird, but Ino had one around her waist. Not wearing the item on your head might be some kind of new fashion statement she wasn't aware of.

She knew, from her parents, that this headband symbolised the wearer was a Konoha ninja and that they should be treated with respect. Then this man could be a ninja surgeon... That was an even scarier thought. She stared at him.

"Hey...Sakura." He gave her a small wave and a friendly eye crease. She assumed he was smiling at her – he knew her by name anyway.

"Hello," she answered slowly, not knowing how she should react to him.

"Remember me?" he asked hopefully.

No she didn't. She had never seen him before in her life.

Sakura sighed in exasperation. "Should I?"

He didn't answer and moved to sit on the stool by her bed.

Sakura smiled when an idea crossed her mind. Pointing sheepishly in front of her, she said, "Hey, umm, pass me the chart at the end of the bed please?"

He did so and she smirked, but as she gazed over the scribbled notes, her smile instantly died.

* * *

><p><em><span>Konoha Hospital – Intensive Care Unit<span>_

_Patient Record: Sakura Haruno_

_**Patient Details:**__  
>Full Name: Sakura Haruno.<br>Occupation: Medical Ninja.  
>Birth date: March 28th.<br>Age: 18._

_**Reason for Admission:**__  
>Injury-induced coma.<em>

_**Cause:**__  
>On a Mission with Team Kakashi - knocked to the floor, head injury.<em>

_**Effects of injury:**__  
>-Unknown-<em>

_**Medical Notes:  
><strong>__Emergency procedure performed.  
>No internal fractures to the skull, but severe swelling (cerebral edema) and d<em>amaged tissue surrounding the brain.<br>Possible TBI (Traumatic brain injury).  
>Potential Temporal lobe and Hippocampus damage likely resulting in memory loss - retrograde amnesia?<em>_

_Precautionary life support supplied.  
><em>_This patient is to be monitored extremely closely and__ is not to be moved under any circumstances.  
>All visits and treatment provided must be recorded precisely.<br>__All updates are to be reported directly to the Hokage_ _without fail._

_Patient awake.  
><em>Unconscious time<strong>:<strong> Three weeks, four days.__

_Amnesia theory CONFIRMED.  
>Uncertain of extent thus far – patient highly confused and in a current state of shock and denial.<br>Memory loss: Ten years?  
>Retrograde<em>

_Permanent?_

_Signed...Tsunade S. (Head Medic)_

* * *

><p>Sakura stared at the notes, the word 'Permanent' sticking out like a splinter to her eyes... It was written no differently than the rest of the neat notes, but it may as well have been in bold, all caps and underlined several times. It stood on its own. A horrible question.<p>

Permanent memory loss? She couldn't even begin to comprehend that theory. The rest of the writing was scary enough; it was all so serious and official. The likelihood of this being a joke was quickly diving headfirst into quicksand and she didn't know how she was supposed to feel. She flicked through the other pages on the clipboard but there were just several graphs which she didn't understand either, so she went to put it down again, letting it fall in her lap helplessly.

Tsunade re-entered the room. She instantly looked between her and the chart and narrowed her eyes. "You're not supposed to look at that."

Sakura pointed at the masked man accusingly, not wanting to get into trouble with the serious, head medic. "He gave it me."

He mirrored this, pointing back at her. "She asked for it."

Tsunade sighed deeply before asking, "Do you know who he is?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "For the last time, no, I don't know these people. If you keep sending them in, I'm going to get annoyed."

She couldn't help her rude retort. She could smell a frustrating reoccurring question in the air. It was like she had never seen these people before, talking to each newcomer just added to her confusion and headache.

Tsunade smiled slightly. She gestured to the clipboard and Sakura held it out for her to take. Tsunade added to the notes, and simply stated, "Sorry, Sakura, that's exactly what we are going to do."

* * *

><p>People had been visiting her all day. She had a blank piece of paper and when they entered she would ask for their names and write a comment about them, usually referring to if she had seen them before. It was all quite overwhelming. Each person seemed kind. They didn't talk much, allowing her to think clearly about each of them.<p>

A few looks of pity were directed at her by several of her 'friends' or 'acquaintances' (she didn't know which) but most of them maintained very blank faces – she wondered if she actually knew these people or if they were just hired actors.

The next lady to walk in was a fair skinned woman, with shoulder-length, blonde hair of which a single bang fell down into her face. Sakura instantly recognised her.

"Sweetie?" Mebuki Haruno said warily. Her eyes drifted to the various medical equipment by the bed before she focused on her daughter's face.

"Mum?" Sakura's eyes widened. Her mother looked older than what she remembered and a little tired – that seemed to be a common theme, everyone looked tired and sounded drained as they talked to her.

Her mother smiled, somewhat in relief, and pulled up the chair beside her. "How are you feeling?" she asked kindly, however, her eyes were serious and there was an undertone of worry in her voice.

"Confused," Sakura admitted with a sigh before giving her mother a small smile. "But happy to see you."

She was glad to finally see a familiar face.

* * *

><p>Tsunade watched Mebuki Haruno enter her apprentice's room, and narrowed her eyes in serious thought.<p>

"Sakura-chan's mother?" Naruto was quiet as he watched the door the older Haruno family member had just entered.

Tsunade nodded. "Sakura should remember her own mother. It might give us some interesting results and hopefully provide her with some familiarity in this situation."

"Can't I do that?" Naruto looked up at the medic hopefully, so, so hopefully.

Tsunade watched him for several seconds in silence – he wasn't quite grasping the situation yet was he? "Naruto...she doesn't know who you are."

Naruto winced, pain enveloped his face. "But she'll remember soon, right?"

The Hokage continued to look at him blankly, not wanting to give him false hope nor squash it completely. "We don't know... We need to give her a little time first, see just where we are with her current memories."

Naruto nodded sadly and looked back at the closed door of his teammate's hospital room. The boy had barely left Sakura's room while she was in a coma and now there was not only a physical barrier between them, but a worrying mental one too. He didn't know how to deal with this. Tsunade knew that. She was holding him back and maintaining control with a calm face and a scientific plan, because Naruto's usual methods would only upset him and Sakura.

"Has Sakura fallen out with her mother?" Tsunade questioned, curious at Naruto's reaction to her plan. He didn't seem overjoyed at seeing Mrs. Haruno.

Seemingly lost in thought, Naruto answered, "No, it's just Sakura-chan mentioned she hadn't seen her mum in ages, because she'd been so busy at the hospital. She said that just the other week."

Tsunade nodded slowly. That would be her fault – well, partly. Sakura was a natural hard worker and often volunteered to take extra shifts. Then there was all the paperwork she got her apprentice to do, training sessions, the odd mission... The sannin would be surprised if Sakura found much time to visit her old home at all – any spare time the pinkette did have was usually spent with her team. A currently very sad team.

It was a frustrating case indeed. Tsunade had been fretting over her apprentice's coma for the last three weeks, making sure only the best medics attended to her and that every little detail was catalogued...only for Sakura to wake up with bloody amnesia. It wasn't that uncommon, amnesia, but the sannin had never personally known anyone with the mental deterioration. It was usually easy to stay detached and look at the situation logically.

It probably wasn't even a good idea to get so many people in to see Sakura, so soon after she had woken up, it could be such an overload of stimulus and at the least had likely already given the girl a bad headache. She wasn't even sure if getting Sakura's mother in was a good idea or not yet, though it should give her apprentice some comfort in this situation... But until they got more information on Sakura's current mental state, there wasn't much they could do yet – that was annoying to her as a medic.

Tsunade was usually good with patience, especially when it came to medicine, but she really wanted to know the outcome of this case already. She wanted to just throw everything at her apprentice and hope she could handle it – she knew she could handle it...or she would have been able to before she hit her head. This might also have more negative side-effects yet to surface, that the Hokage was not looking forward to discovering. Until then, she'd just have to do a bit more experimenting.

"Can you fetch Ino, please?" Tsunade requested.

Naruto jumped out of thought, but still didn't drag his gaze away from Sakura's room. "Sakura-chan should know Ino, right?"

"Yes, they were friends at a young age," she answered. "I presume some of those earlier memories will come back to Sakura fairly soon, the initial confusion and memories prior to the age of eight should return normally."

Before the sannin could explain the early progression of amnesia, and the stages a patient usually went through after gaining conscious, Naruto started walking down the corridor.

"I'll fetch Ino," he said, his tone lacking all of his usual enthusiasm.

Tsunade watched the boy walk away. Poor Naruto. He had spent the last three weeks sat by his teammate's bedside as if his mere presence would bring her back to consciousness, only for Sakura to wake up and have no idea who he was. This was going to be hard on all of them. Hopefully, Mebuki wouldn't make it worse.

She had explained to Sakura's mother the basic situation, stating amnesia was completely unpredictable and it was too early to determine just how much damage had been done. She had even said that this could be a permanent problem. Sakura would need support from her family, but Tsunade didn't want Mebuki coming in and changing everything.

As Naruto had said, Sakura's normal routine didn't consist of her mother so much anymore, and that was something that shouldn't be changed right now. But why would a mother not want to come in and instinctively protect and smother her daughter? Sakura even saw herself as a young child.

This was the most fragile, surreal problem that Tsunade had faced in a very long time. The stress was building and all the usual medical _what ifs_ that sprung to her mind were pinpricking her heart with worry.

* * *

><p>"All these people," Sakura stressed, "I don't know how to feel right now."<p>

Mebuki smiled comfortingly and placed a hand on her knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I know...don't worry. You can move back in with us."

"Uhh...when did I move out?" Sakura frowned slightly.

This was news to her. As far as she knew, she already lived with her mother and father and had done for all of her life.

"About a year ago," Mebuki said, calculating the time in her head.

"Oh...well OK," Sakura mumbled.

Either way it didn't bother her, going back to her mum and dad's house would feel normal.

Tsunade walked into the room. She seemed angry. "Mrs. Haruno, I would appreciate it if you don't get Sakura to make any big decisions in her current state of mind."

Her mother seemed to flare up also - she narrowed her eyes at the intrusion. "She is my child and if she wants to move back in with me, that's fine."

"She doesn't want to," Tsunade answered flatly. "I remember how Sakura felt to finally move out. It was a big part of growing up for her. She cannot make big decisions after her injury. She definitely cannot go back and live like she used to."

"Why not?" Mebuki Haruno questioned, lowering her voice at the head medic's words.

"At the minute, she has no knowledge of her life after being a ninja, going back to living like a child is not going to help her remember."

She was a ninja? She had grown up and moved out? The first was not a surprise. She wanted to be a ninja of Konoha, but she couldn't picture herself succeeding and graduating the academy. It would have taken her years of training and she struggled with her confidence. That's why she couldn't believe she had 'grown up and moved out'.

Her parents support was a massive thing for her. She didn't have many friends (she was currently finding it hard to recall how much she remembered about Ino, but she was sure that the blonde was her childhood friend, if not her only childhood friend), and so having her mum and dad was always important. She could not see herself letting go of them easily.

Her mother stood up and took a step forward towards the medic, raking her hand through her hair, obviously stressed and worried, even angered at the situation. "Well she is certainly not going to live on her own after that! Whose fault is it anyway? Yours, for sending her on a dangerous mission. You said the memory loss was permanent anyway!"

She flinched at the word again. Permanent. She potentially couldn't be fixed and she didn't even know what was broken about her. She was being described and talked about and none of the words fitted her self-image. The Sakura Haruno they knew was not her. She was a child...quite a lonely child at that. The details were foggy, but she did not know much about herself or the people around her. Little bits were piecing together as she listened to others speak, but she was still certain she was not an eighteen year old ninja with a mentor _and_ teammates _and_ friends.

"There is a chance it will be permanent, but I damn well hope not. Your daughter has achieved too much to just forget it all," Tsunade snapped back.

_At least I have achieved things_, she thought bitterly, _not that I know what it is I have managed to do. _She had forgotten it all. That was the harsh truth right now. She didn't know what to say to either of the arguing women. All she could do was listen as if they weren't talking about her.

The level of tension in the room wasn't something she wanted to try and disperse. It was a frightening scene and she had no power in her position.

"No, she should forget her life as a ninja, it's too dangerous, this event has proved that. She's coming home with me now." Mebuki shook her head and gestured to her daughter sat awkwardly in her hospital bed.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "You have no authentication to take her out of this hospital."

"Authentication? I am her mother! I have every right," Mebuki insisted, not prepared to back down.

"She is not leaving this room until she is cleared mentally and physically fit. We don't know if any other symptoms will occur."

"Well..." Her mother took a deep breath, unsure of what to add. "I don't want her having any visitors or unnecessary treatment."

"She is old enough to decide herself," Tsunade pointed out.

Sakura hadn't decided anything since she woke up. Tsunade had organised everything around her. She saw the people she was told to see and answered the questions they asked her. She had no problem following orders because she had no idea what was going on. If she was alone, she would have been freaked out and lost. She did not want to be here much longer. She wanted leave this hospital room as soon as possible.

"She doesn't think so, as her mother I am providing her with decisions for her own good. No visitors until she comes home, OK?" Mebuki retorted.

Tsunade's fist tightened and she gave the woman a death glare. "I am the Hokage. You _will not_ and _cannot_ give me orders. If you were not that girl's mother, retired ninja or not, I would punch you through a damn wall!"

Sakura gasped at the reveal. Her mentor was the _Hokage_? Why in the world was Mebuki acting so rudely towards the woman? Usually, her mother was very kind, she had her moments of anger (usually directed at her husband) but she was never one to disrespect others.

Sakura thought more about it. If anything, her mother was very protective of her. If she had really been in a coma due to this injury, her family would have been worried sick – everyone here seemed to be worried, the anxiety was palpable. Her current medical state had seemed to put everyone on edge, she was the reason these women were so flared up right now, yet she didn't want to get in the way of either of the angry females.

Ino sheepishly walked in. "...Hi, Mrs. Haruno."

"Ino, out," Mebuki ordered, her glare unmoving from the Hokage's mirrored anger.

Ino wisely backed out of the room slowly.

Yes, that girl was definitely her childhood friend. Sakura remembered her, much younger. As a kid, Ino knew how to get along with the adults and get away with things. She knew how to stay on Mebuki's good side (deny all accusations and innocently point at Sakura, not that her mum was usually this easy to provoke). The older Haruno did seem to be quite fond of her, despite how much Sakura always said that she was such a bad influence on her - which was true, but you don't let your best friend's mother know that and so Ino had always remained sweet in her mother's eyes.

Besides, when your kid is bullied and then she finds one friend, what mother would dampen the relationship? They had quite a bond, too.

That might not be the case anymore though. Their friendship had begun to develop from Ino protecting her to teasing her a little and dragging her into situations where she needed to be confident. Was she learning after all this time that she was just a scapegoat for Ino's more complicated childish plans? Was she used by the blonde? The behaviour Ino demonstrated earlier was not the kindest. But she was attached to this girl. She did not remember any reason to dislike her.

"You cannot order my staff around. Ino is a medic and has full authority to be in here. Besides, Sakura remembers her, as a younger version, but remembers her," Tsunade shouted.

"Then I definitely don't want her in here. She has too much influence over my daughter. Find another medic, someone Sakura does not know," Mebuki yelled back.

Sakura winced as the volume level increased – shouldn't she be making these decisions? Tsunade seemed to be fighting for her independence, whilst Mebuki wanted her to go home. Honestly, she wouldn't mind not seeing any of her so called 'friends' right now. She just wanted to go home and find some familiarity. Ino didn't seem very nice to her, but at the same time, Sakura remembered her at least. The dreadful haze had lifted a little, she knew who she was, she remembered some childhood memories but nothing beyond that...

The basics had come back to her now, her name, her age (eight), her family and other people she knew. Ino was her only friend as far as she was concerned - everyone else bullied her... Yet with all these people coming to visit her, in ten years she must have done something right. She seemed to have a lot of new friends – and now Ino seemed to bully her. Everything around her wasn't making any sense at all; it was as if she had woken up in another strange world entirely.

"There is not a single medic in this hospital who does not know Sakura. She is one of our top medics and everyone who works here knows and respects her," Tsunade continued.

Sakura's eyes widened. Wow. She stared up at the blonde in disbelief – trying to gauge if what she was saying was real and if it was, _how? _Tsunade was dropping bombshell after bombshell on her confused brain. A top medic ninja, a student to the Hokage herself...it was all unbelievable and unconditionally unrealistic.

"Well that's your loss. If it has to be someone she knows I want to be here while they see her." Mebuki snorted.

"Then come back in visiting hours."

"No-"

"Be quiet," Sakura interjected. "_Please_."

She had no idea what the women were arguing about. Yes, she knew it was about her and that she should have loyalties to her mother, just seconds ago she was prepared to pack her bags and go home, but what Tsunade was saying... It was all too good to be true. "I'm a top medic ninja?" she asked quietly, shocked.

Tsunade nodded her head in simple confirmation.

Well...she still didn't believe that. She shook her head. "I'm an eight year old girl, with no friends and a big forehead."

"Sakura, none of that is true." Tsunade frowned as her mother went and sat down again beside her. "Mrs. Haruno, I would like to ask you to leave."

Mebuki sighed. She looked at her daughter and then back up at the Hokage, meeting her gaze steadily. "I will stay as long as I want. If she truly remembers only her younger childhood, it was a stressful time for her and only her parents can understand that. You've not even known my daughter that long. If you'll excuse me, I want to talk to her alone."

Tsunade clenched her fists by her sides.

Sakura watched nervously, not daring to move for fear of a further outburst from either of the fired-up women.

Without saying anything, Tsunade marched out of the room and shut the door behind her.

* * *

><p>Tsunade was incredibly frustrated.<p>

She simply would not allow Sakura's mother to waltz in and drag the girl away from her, and the hospital, and those willing to help. Sakura needed close monitoring. She needed her questions to be answered correctly - especially if she felt like a fragile eight year old, damn it - so she was in the right mindset to deal with the situation she had woken up to. It was important that they dealt with this right because it would affect how Sakura saw herself and the world around her.

Heaven forbid that Sakura never remembered and did not get every chance to live a normal, fruitful life, because the girl deserved so much more. It was sickening to think of the things Sakura could have achieved, _had _achieved, that were now uncertainties.

It wasn't just her that Sakura got her aggression from, or the passion to protect her loved ones.

Good job Mebuki Haruno had been out of the shinobi field for so long... Eavesdropping would be easy enough. Illegal and intrusive, but easy.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

Amnesia: A story I started a few years ago and began uploading in the Easter holidays of 2012. It's developed a lot since then and so has my writing. I've come back and re-edited it a little bit. Originally, Sakura's mother had no name and I'd cast her as a civilian. Then after Mebuki and Kizashi were introduced in filler, I came back and changed it – I've said they're now retired though to fit in with Tsunade eavesdropping and Mebuki's increased worry for her daughter's health.

Here's part of the original author notes (only part, I can write very long author notes):

'This will be a NaruSaku romance, although it's not all focused on that, the main focus obviously being Sakura's amnesia. There's going to be drama, some action and all sorts, I've had some fun with it later on.

It's also hard to describe Sakura's past memories that she can remember because we don't exactly know her age when she met Ino etc. All the memory talk is influenced by me taking Psychology at college (high school for you Americans?) and Psychological references appear in my stories more than once.

*Later Edit* Now, with the 'Road to Ninja' Naruto movie we know what Sakura's parents are going to be like... There's also the 'Road to Sakura' filler episode now - were Sakura gets Amnesia! My thoughts on this will be explained in chapter ten's author notes, as that is when the episode was released. This was obviously written before that episode.

Looking back at this now, I feel like my writing has improved. If you read on, perhaps you'll see that in the latest chapters. Some NaruSakuness starts in chapter 2, then especially chapter 3, and later on of course. Chapters will get a lot longer and hopefully the later ones will be a lot better too. The last chapters should technically be when my writing is at its best.'

Thanks for reading :)


	2. Awkward Conversations

**Amnesia**

Chapter 2: Awkward Conversations

* * *

><p>Tsunade was pressed up against the door as Sakura's mother began speaking. She was pushing any anxiety she felt, not because of potentially being caught (that wasn't going to happen), but due to what her apprentice might say.<p>

"Sakura, what do you remember?" Mebuki asked.

This wasn't exactly illegal, it was 'medical interest', they needed to know exactly what Sakura was going through to try and help her. It was quite obvious that Sakura didn't remember her and so she couldn't play the trusted friend. That didn't matter though. Tsunade would get answers and she would find out everything that her apprentice was going through - at any cost.

Naruto came dawdling back down the hospital corridor, he saw her, and at a gesture silently joined the Hokage. Naruto does this all the time anyway. She always caught him eavesdropping on her and he didn't need much encouragement to spy now. At least he _usually_ had good intentions.

Tsunade only had good intentions here, and she was still a little annoyed at Mebuki's stubborn demeanour - even if it was through protectiveness and worry for her daughter's health. Mebuki needed to understand that Sakura had a lot of close friends that could play a very positive part in daughter's life, especially now.

Mebuki also needed to get it through her head that as her mentor, Tsunade was not going to go easy on getting answers about Sakura's condition. Her apprentice was so talented, unfairly good willed, a joy to teach. Sakura deserved so much more than _this_. This situation she found herself in could not have been more unfair.

When Sakura came back to her, unconscious and brain damaged, Tsunade vowed to herself that she would do everything in her power to help the girl. The same applied now and it always would. She was prepared to play rough and she was definitely prepared to give Sakura some tough love, even if she had likely lost the trust and respect that they had gained for each other over their years of working together.

* * *

><p>Sakura was sat in her bed in deep thought. <em>What do you remember? <em>It wasn't a simple question. She did not know where to begin and her head was still aching. She was constantly aware of the dull thud pulsing in her brain.

"I...not much. I couldn't remember anything at first, but I know who I am. I can see, by looking at these people, who they are... I'm eighteen now?"

Her mother smiled weakly. "You were always very observant. Yes, all those people you recognise are around eighteen too."

_Eighteen._ Sakura still couldn't believe it. She didn't quite know what she expected to be doing at this age, but she didn't expect this. She was a medical ninja - apparently a very good one. What made her make that decision? She never thought she would achieve anything... Most people were happy to make her believe that. Apart from Ino.

Ino had always defended her, made her believe that maybe one day she could be as confident and as strong as her best friend, and one day achieve as much as Ino was sure to have done by now. Was Ino just too good for her these days? Had they simply grown apart?

Ino called her out on the one thing she had been so sensitive about, her big, ugly forehead, and so casually too. Sakura would like to hope that she was more confident in herself and that her looks didn't affect her so much anymore, but she had no idea what she was currently like.

The questions about herself and friends were building up by the second. She hoped her mother could give her the answers. Even though she apparently hadn't been living with her, she assumed she still saw her mother frequently. It would feel strange any other way. "What happened between me and Ino?"

Her mother was silent for a while and it was discomforting. Had she done something awful to the blonde?

"Why is she an influence on me?" Sakura pushed, desperately wanting answers as soon as possible, the suspense was a growing irritation. This surprised her. Confusion took her top spot when it came to how she was feeling, but she wouldn't deny feeling a low bubbling anger, a snap of annoyance at certain things. She wanted answers and people were not giving them up easily.

"Well you've always been sort of rivals," Mebuki answered, looking past her, staring at nothing in particular.

Rivals, huh. She had somehow grown confident enough to try and rival her self-assured friend? Her eyebrows narrowed in disbelief.

_"Why?"_

* * *

><p><em>Sasuke<em>. Tsunade may not have known Sakura as long as her mother, but she knew a lot about her. She probably knew more about Sakura and Sasuke than Mebuki did - and she did not want that subject being brought up. She subconsciously leant a little closer into the door, whilst Naruto shuffled at her side. Perhaps the boy felt bad for eavesdropping on his teammate – or just awkward about the girl talk he was listening in on.

Naruto definitely wouldn't want Sasuke being discussed either. The remainder of Team 7 had already gone through enough hardship concerning that boy. Tsunade would admit that it would be interesting to see Sakura's current thoughts on the Sasuke, and on a lot of other things in their lives. Sakura had been so naive, so innocent, until she went through some horrible experiences. How much did those experiences make her who she was?

* * *

><p>"Oh you know...boys," Mebuki said blankly.<p>

Sakura was completely taken aback. "_Really?_ Who? Anyone I saw today?"

_Boys._ She hadn't even begun to think about romance! Did she have a boyfriend? Had she had boyfriends? She could at least be somewhat relieved that she didn't wake up to find herself married or something because that would be insane.

She wouldn't be surprised if she didn't have a boyfriend though, she didn't exactly perceive herself as a man killer. Killer...she was a ninja! Had she killed before? Or did she mainly heal? The occupation was a sure promise of drama, how much drama had she forgotten? She couldn't begin to imagine it.

"No, nobody you saw today," her mother answered, pulling Sakura out of her inner-ramblings.

"Naruto?" Sakura guessed.

Naruto...the way he had looked at her. They were close now. She remembered him as a small boy. She didn't seem him around a lot but he always looked very lonely. Sakura didn't understand why. If she had the chance, she probably would have spoken to him.

However, Ino picked her up and her world changed. Plus, Sakura's parents had never seemed to let her linger when Naruto was in sight.

"No."

"Wasn't he the one I liked when I was really little?" Sakura asked, her mind lingering back to the possibility of romance in her past.

"You were certainly interested in who he was," Mebuki stated, seemingly trying to skip out on any kind of detail that Sakura was really hoping for.

"What happened?" Sakura encouraged.

Naruto had been sat there when she woke up. He was her long term teammate and friend. He must mean something to her, right? Was it ever romantic? He had looked so concerned and shocked by her initial reaction of his face not even registering in her brain.

"You were not allowed to talk to him."

"Why?" the pink-haired girl muttered, the confusion increasing within her once again.

"He was a naughty child, a bad influence." Mebuki shuffled a little in her seat.

"You say everyone is a bad influence on me, I think you're just being over-protective," Sakura said with dry amusement.

Her mother laughed awkwardly. "Well...what can you say? Ninjas are crafty people."

Was she a crafty person? Was Naruto? Ino? Sakura wanted to groan in frustration. She was asking questions, only for the answers given to spur more questions. For all she knew, she was an incredibly crafty medical ninja, who killed several people and dated lots of guys. No, she couldn't imagine herself like that – but she couldn't even imagine herself as a medic! With lots of friends!

To think her friendship with Ino, that at the time she thought was so solid, could be broken over a rivalry for a boy. Who was this mystery man?

"Who was the other guy then?" Sakura asked, trying to phrase it so simply that it in no way could be avoided.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

There was a strange soft thud at her door and Sakura briefly looked at it, expecting a knock. When nothing happened, Sakura looked back at her mum.

"You remember him?" her mother asked slowly, taking her turn in wanting answers.

"Ummm, the boy who's family got killed?" she said quietly.

She certainly remembered the name. Even she knew about the Uchiha clan. The topic was often avoided or glossed over by the adults and other children. So she fell for an Uchiha? The only Uchiha if her memory served her right (which she guessed it wasn't doing right now).

"Yeah, him."

"_Really?_"

"Yes."

There was a small silence as Sakura tried to take in that fact. She lost her friendship with Ino over rivalry for a boy, Sasuke Uchiha. She didn't remember much about him at all. She wasn't friends with him at a young age. She couldn't remember seeing him about. Was he ever her boyfriend? Was he Ino's boyfriend? Were they even friends?

There was no Sasuke sitting waiting for her, like Naruto and Tsunade, when she woke up. Maybe they had a nasty breakup or something. She really wanted to know what even attracted her to him in the first place because he couldn't be that great if he wasn't here to support her now - unless she really had messed things up with him in the past.

That's how her mind seemed to work. What did she do to make Ino dislike her? What did she do to make Sasuke avoid her? How in the world had she managed to get a grip on a successful career and social life? She couldn't imagine herself having the courage to chase an Uchiha, nor did she know why she did in the first place.

Sakura once again voiced her question aloud, "Why did I like him?"

"I guess I always encouraged someone like that, but really, I have no idea," Mebuki answered honestly, shaking her head.

It was unlikely they dated then. Her mother didn't seem to know much about him and they unlikely discussed why she liked him in the first place. Boys seemed to be an awkward topic with her mother in general, perhaps she was so socially awkward that she'd never had a boyfriend and therefore this was a totally new topic to talk to her mum about.

"Where is he now?" Sakura pressed on. "Sasuke?"

"He left Konoha."

Ah. That was why he wasn't here then. Had she really driven him that far away? Had she chased him out of Konoha with her affection? She'd like to think if anything, it was Ino who scared the boy off, though she hoped neither of those theories were true. "Why?"

"I don't know, ninja stuff I think, you never really talked about him after he left. Increasingly over the years, we've talked less and less...and when you started training with the Hokage, well I rarely saw you," Mebuki said, her eyes downcast.

"I'm sorry," Sakura apologised quietly.

She had not only moved out, but lost contact with her mother? And her father too? She seemed to have grown distant from everyone she knew, Ino, her family... Were they replaced with crafty ninja friends? She felt guilty. Her mother had been so supportive in her youth, for her to grow up and not want to talk to her... Then again, she guessed that was a part of growing up. What teenager still spoke to their parents on a regular basis about their problems and (apparently in her case) boys?

"It's okay, I don't blame you, the life of a ninja is...busy. Listen, I don't want you talking to any of your old friends, or Naruto," Mebuki mother spoke just as quietly.

That was surprising. Just what was it about her current friends that her mother deemed so bad? And Naruto too, the boy sat waiting for her, he hadn't said anything that set off her alarm bells yet.

"Why?" Sakura frowned, her confusion evident in her voice.

"Because you need some time to sort these things out. Seeing these people is only going to confuse your judgement. You want to take a step back and decide what you want," Mebuki replied confidently, nodding at her own plan.

It did make sense. She didn't know what was what right now or who all these people were. She didn't even know what she wanted. "How do I do that?" she questioned.

"We'll help you, just promise you'll try and avoid these people, okay?" Mebuki asked, giving her daughter a reassuring smile.

Sakura opened her mouth and went to speak but then looked at the door again. She swore she could hear shuffling outside. Standing up, she walked over to the door and opened it. As she did so, she saw Naruto standing there, arm positioned as if he were about to knock. He looked guilty.

"Hello...Naruto," Sakura greeted him blankly, hinting that she was suspicious.

He smiled nervously. "Hey, Sakura-chan, can I come in?"

"How long have you been standing there?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, ignoring his request.

"I wasn't sure whether to knock or not," he said awkwardly.

"Well my mother was just visiting," Sakura explained, glancing back at Mebuki sat by the bed. This was the boy her mother specifically just told her not to talk to.

Naruto looked up at the woman sitting on the chair and then entered the room. He walked in front of her mother and held out his hand. "Hi, Mrs. Haruno, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura's teammate."

Sakura watched as her mother slowly shook the boy's hand, but then asked, "Were you eavesdropping?"

Naruto froze. Sakura was about to find out if he was the type of person to lie because she was fairly sure he had been.

He lowered his head sheepishly and said, "I'm sorry, I just wanted to ensure Sakura was OK."

"It's rude to spy on people." Mebuki frowned, clearly annoyed by his antics.

"I didn't have any parents to teach me these things when I was little," Naruto replied with a small smile.

That was right – she didn't once remember seeing Naruto with an adult, or anyone for that matter. She took a step towards him out of pity. She said apologetically, "Naruto, I'm sorry."

He turned to his friend and his smile automatically widened. "It's okay, Sakura-chan, I'm cool with it."

Sakura smiled in reply and her mother's frown increased. "Naruto, would you please leave the room?"

Naruto nodded and walked back to the door before giving Sakura one last smile. "See you later, Sakura-chan."

Her second first impression of the boy (apart from being really confused by him initially sat right up in her face and ignoring the fact that he was just eavesdropping on her conversation), was he certainly didn't seem bad. His smile was genuine; he came across as a caring friend.

Sakura turned to her mother. "I don't see why I can't talk to him."

"He was just eavesdropping on us."

"To make sure I was OK," she pointed out.

Her mother sighed. "Sakura, you are at a metal age when you take what people say too seriously."

Sakura shrugged. "Well if he's my teammate, I don't blame him."

"And you were too logical for an eight year old."

Sakura smiled but then put a hand on her head. "So I can't remember over ten years of my life."

It didn't matter how many questions she asked. _Ten years_. Gone. Forever? She sincerely hoped not. She was trying to remember, but she didn't even know what she had forgotten! Her little theories that she was coming up with were crazy and (hopefully) unrealistic. This was sickening.

She didn't hear what her mother said next, her head was pounding. Bringing her other hand up to her head also, she shook it as her vision began to go blurry. The constant headache she had grown accustomed to started to throb violently, leaving her unaware of her distorting surroundings.

Her mother ran out of the room. Conveniently, Tsunade and Naruto were talking not far down the hall. "Come quickly!"

Tsunade barged into the hospital room, instantly at her apprentice's side. "Sakura! Are you OK?"

Sakura held her head in her hands, covering both her forehead and eyes. "My head..." she murmured in pain.

"It's okay, Sakura," Tsunade replied, but it sounded muffled to Sakura's ears, like she was speaking from behind glass.

Everything began to fade...

* * *

><p>Tsunade was more determined now than ever, to get it through to Sakura's mother, that she wasn't to be questioned on her decisions concerning her apprentice. This was serious and Sakura's recent display of head pain was only adding to their troubles.<p>

"Mrs. Haruno, I know that you don't want any of us seeing your daughter...but the truth is, she needs a ninja, a medic or a friend by her side at all times. If something were to go wrong, she needs to be seen straight away in hospital, brain damage is unpredictable."

"Are you saying I cannot look after my daughter?" Mebuki said, although the fight had drained out of her voice, replaced solely with worry.

Tsunade's own voice softened. They shared the same fears. "No, Sakura needs medical attention. She also needs a friend, someone who she can trust to reassure her. This is going to be a tough time and there is only so much a mother can do."

"Fine, but you better make sure nothing bad happens to her. Ever," Mebuki warned.

The Hokage nodded. That, she agreed on.

Giving one last glance at her daughter's hospital room, Mebuki Haruno walked away from the scene. When she heard Naruto charge out the room and say "she's awake!" she looked around at him and smiled, but continued down the corridor.

Tsunade entered the room and walked up to her now awake, but tired-looking apprentice. "Hey, Sakura, how are you feeling?"

"Like I just got shot in the head," she mumbled back, once again rubbing her forehead.

Tsunade gave her a sympathetic smile. "You need to stop trying to remember so hard, you're going to blow up your brain."

"But...it's got to be somewhere right? I can't just forget," Sakura argued, obviously stressed.

"There is a chance it can come back to you yes, it may just be temporary, but thinking about it too much isn't going to help," Tsunade explained.

Sakura sighed. "Is my mother still here?"

"No, she went home."

Sakura nodded. "Good, I don't want her to worry. Can I go too?"

"What?" The Sannin raised an eyebrow.

"I feel like I've been here for ten years," she grumbled.

Naruto laughed and Sakura smiled at him. Tsunade was so glad Naruto was here. He would look after her in ways she couldn't. She needed to be tough here for all of them.

"I'm sorry, Sakura, you can't leave, I'll come back to check on you later though, OK?" The Sannin left the two teenagers in the room.

As bad as it sounds, she was very glad Sakura's mother was no longer there.

* * *

><p>Sakura was relieved to be alone with Naruto because she had a feeling she could get some answers from him. He also sat there with a very genuine, relieved look on his face that truly made her believe they were friends and that he cared for her. The fear regarding her situation, that had gripped her heart so strongly, loosened a little.<p>

"So, Naruto...anything I need to know about my life?" Sakura asked, trying to break the ice. He didn't seem awkward at all, but she wasn't sure just how comfortable their friendship was.

"Well," Naruto grinned, "you're a popular medic ninja with extreme strength. Everyone loves and respects you, you have tons of friends and you're the prettiest girl in the world."

For a moment, Sakura didn't answer and then she laughed, not believing him one bit. "You're just joking, right?"

"No!" Naruto didn't hesitate and his eyes widened at the accusation.

"I don't believe you," she said honestly, shaking her head. He must be a joker.

Naruto grinned in reply. "Well that's my opinion."

Heat rushed to her cheeks. Unused to any kind of compliments, especially regarding her looks, she stared open mouthed. "You think I'm the prettiest girl in the world?"

He nodded enthusiastically.

She bit her lip to prevent the embarrassed smile she wanted to give him. Her previous questions once again lingered in her mind. Romance. "Are we...you know, a couple?" she asked, trying to sound less interested than she actually was.

Naruto pouted slightly. "No."

"Oh..." Sakura trailed off. That shouldn't surprise her. Perhaps he was one to go around complimenting every girl he saw - and the comment he made before just came naturally to him. It was probably nothing special at all. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

His pout increased. "No."

Whilst he only looked sulky, she couldn't help the grin that tugged on her lips. "Don't pull that face."

"What face?" Naruto replied, confused.

"That one!" She giggled as he only made it worse. It was an extremely cute face. Then she paused. "Wait, do I have a boyfriend?"

Naruto looked at her for a moment and she held her breath. The moment of truth was here.

"No, thank God," Naruto said eventually.

"Why?"

"Because I would have to beat them up."

"Why?" she repeated.

Naruto scratched his head. "Well I...I uhh-"

Sakura smiled. "Do you like me?"

It was blunt of her – but for all she knew, she already knew the answer and she really wanted to know the truth.

Naruto swallowed, but then he met her gaze steadily. "Always, Sakura."

Sakura opened her mouth to reply, she wanted to know everything about their friendship, but Ino burst into the room. "Forehead! How's your big head?"

Sakura turned to the bubbly blonde, annoyed at the interruption and nickname. "You know, Ino, you're mean."

Ino smiled in reply. "Oh I know, but so are you."

Sakura pouted. "Am not."

Ino turned to Naruto. "Isn't she Naruto?"

He frowned. "No."

"But she's always mean to you Naruto, turning you down, punching you across the sky, telling you off."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Really?"

She looked down. How could she be so cruel? Why the hell did he like her if she punched him and told him off all the time? Why was he here if she treated him so badly?

Ino saw her friend's change in mood and scooted closer. "But anyway, we all know it's because you like the guy."

Sakura's eyes widened and Ino nudged her and winked. "However, you are both blind to each other's affection, maybe it took a really bad blow to the head to see it?"

Sakura looked at the male. He was funny, kind, cute... Did she like him? Did she like him when she remembered her life? He had made her feel so comfortable in such a horrible situation.

Naruto turned to Ino. "Stop patronising her, Ino."

He protects her and sticks by her side.

Sakura smiled. He really was blind. She had only just met him (kind of) and already felt some sort of attraction, but whether that was because of her past, she didn't know. At the very least, she appreciated his affections.

Ino smirked. "It's what I do best, Naruto. We're rivals, it's how we communicate."

Sakura looked at her rival, hoping she could provide her with the answers her mother could not. "So, we're rivals because of Sasuke Uchiha?"

The room around her froze and she noticed it, but waited for an answer anyway. She was getting further with her friends than she did with her mother. While Naruto seemed awkward on the topic of romance, at least he answered her bluntly and honestly – although from what he had told her, she wasn't sure if she could trust his judgement.

He was either bigging her up to make her feel good about herself, or one of the blows she'd apparently inflicted on him must have given him some brain damage too. Ino seemed like she would tell it to her straight, even if the truth was cruel. Sakura appreciated the truth right now, harsh or not.

Ino shrugged it off. "I guess that's what started us off when we were kids, but it's other things really. Our friendship is not only about rivalry."

Sakura smiled. She definitely had a good feeling Ino would talk and so she continued, "My mother said Sasuke left for ninja reasons, what were they?"

Ino looked at Naruto, her facial expression not giving much away, causing Sakura to study her female friend even closer. It took her seconds to figure out that Naruto gave a lot away through his facial expressions and body language. Ino looked like a harder nut to visually crack, but she sure liked to talk a lot – always had. A gossip was a great source for finding out about herself and the people she used to be acquainted with.

"He wanted to leave to become stronger and kill his brother for what he did to the clan," Naruto spoke calmly, but something about him made Sakura want to move further away from him. He was suddenly gravely serious...distant. Her whole first thoughts on his personality just went out of the window. The boy was no longer happy, easy to read or comforting to be around.

Generally interested in the story about Sasuke and how it could change Naruto so dramatically, she nodded encouragingly at him. "Whose team was he on?"

Naruto looked her in the eyes and the realisation hit her. "Ours."

He seemed deeply upset. Sakura swallowed, that would explain it. "I'm sorry," she apologised earnestly. While she wanted answers, she didn't want to unsettle him. He was too nice to hurt.

The sadness in his eyes vanished quickly and he smiled at her, reverting back to the happier, loving friend again. "It's okay, Sakura, you didn't know... I'm going to go and get a drink, do you want anything?"

She shook her head and he got up and left the room. Sakura turned to Ino, concern in her eyes. "Did I say something?"

Ino crossed her arms. "You don't really want to bring up Sasuke in front of a member of Team 7."

"Who?" Sakura frowned in confusion.

"You, Kakashi or Naruto," her friend explained.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Kakashi? The masked man? He was here earlier."

Ino smiled. "Yeah that's the one. You know, you are lucky, he hates hospitals."

Sakura chuckled. "Why?"

"Who knows, that man is a mystery. Shame you've forgotten what he looks like, hottest man alive." Ino grinned.

Is that why he hid his face? She had originally thought he was some kind of surgeon. It was surprising to find out someone like that was her teammate. He wasn't in her age group, that was for sure. Team 7. Her, Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke. She couldn't picture it.

To begin with, she didn't know what Sasuke looked like. She vaguely imagined a black-haired boy, but she wasn't sure. His hair colour might have been a dark brown – even if she saw him, she wouldn't recognise him. It looked like Sasuke wasn't a topic she could ask people about either, whilst that only made her more curious, she didn't want to upset or anger Naruto. She could ask about Kakashi though, right? The 'hottest man alive'.

"Really?" She titled her head, trying to figure out if Ino was telling her the truth or not.

Ino winked. "Yeah! You should try and sneak a peek!"

She would have to see it to believe it. If he was as gorgeous as the blonde claimed, she would definitely try and take a look the next time she saw him. Even if he was normal looking, he had her interest peaked – though everything was interesting to her currently.

Sakura nodded. "OK! Just don't bring up Sasuke in front of him or Naruto."

"Well...I wouldn't really bring up Sasuke in front of anyone." Ino shrugged.

"Why not?" Her eyebrows pinched together in thought.

"He's sort of a bad guy," Ino said carefully.

Again, very interesting, but she couldn't ask for more.

"Oh...sucks to be us," Sakura murmured.

Ino laughed. "Why?"

"We used to like him right? Do I still..." Sakura trailed off.

Ino frowned. "No, Sakura, you don't. We got over him a long time ago."

That was a relief. She would hate to still be pining after a guy who was far out of reach. But Sasuke was her teammate, what happened was so sad... Was she as attached to him as Naruto was? Could she not even think or hear his name without having to leave the room to have a private moment? Naruto seemed like a loving friend; of course he'd be upset over Sasuke leaving Konoha. Yet now Sasuke seemed like their enemy. If he wasn't a very nice person, perhaps it was good that he had left.

Sakura smiled and nodded at her friend. "Good, thanks, Ino."

Naruto walked back into the room. He seemed happier again and more composed.

Ino saw him and decided it was her turn to leave. She answered without looking at her, "No problem, Sakura, explaining things to you is what I'm here for."

She waved and headed towards the door, winking at Naruto on the way.

"Wait, Ino," Sakura called after her, stopping the blonde before she left.

Ino turned around to look at her friend. "What?"

Sakura smiled at her in appreciation. "You always used to protect me when we were kids, thanks for that, you haven't changed a bit."

Ino stuck her tongue out in reply. "You know I find that rather insulting. I'm a lot prettier, don't you think?"

Sakura laughed and stuck her tongue out at the blonde in return.

With a smile on her face, Ino left the room and closed the door.

"Thanks, Forehead."

* * *

><p>Naruto smiled at Sakura. He never knew Ino meant so much to her, yes, he knew they were rivals due a certain someone - although he never knew the extent of their friendship. They were always arguing with each other, but now he had a lot more respect for the blonde. He had always frowned upon Ino because she tended to tease Sakura in a way he never agreed with. His best friend was so pretty. How anyone could put her down about her looks, he'd never know or understand.<p>

"You know, Naruto, you don't have to stay here," Sakura began.

"Of course I do," he replied blankly.

All he had done was stay in this room. He had never been so worried, frightened even. Before this, Sakura had never had any kind of major injury that he had been around to witness. The fact that he had been there when it happened made it so much worse. He could never imagine losing her, he was just so glad she had woken up, amnesia or not, he _couldn't_ lose her. To see her be physically OK and smile at him, he was relieved beyond belief. He'd make sure she was happy now, safe and...loved.

Something about facing the fact that she may not have woken up rattled him deeply. He had never told her how much she meant to him. He had wanted to wait until he had brought back Sasuke for her, but now, she didn't even know who their old teammate was. He wasn't sure how he felt about that yet. If she didn't know him, could she love someone else?

At least she wouldn't share his pain over the loss of their teammate anymore. He knew how much Sasuke meant to her. He still planned to bring Sasuke back. He would still keep his promise to her, even if she couldn't remember him making it. Maybe one day she would remember.

She smiled at him. "Because you like me, right?"

He grinned and nodded. At least she knew he was there for her now, that he liked her, even. It was so strange but he didn't care because she was alive and smiling.

But Sakura's smile slowly faded and her expression darkened. "And if I never remember who I am? If I don't remember my past?"

Naruto turned serious. He _hated_ seeing her sad. "Then I'll still love you, Sakura."

Her eyes widened at the word. "But surely my character has developed in the years I've forgotten? Surely I'm different?"

Naruto shook his head. "You will always be the same to me, Sakura. The more you change, the more I love you in different ways. The more we've grown together, the stronger my feelings have become."

Sakura's eyes began to fill with tears. "And I don't remember any of it."

A single tear fell and he leant forward, wiping it away with his finger. She looked up at him and he saw the fear in her eyes. It was a look that he would never allow to last.

Standing up, he smiled. He held out his hand towards her.

She pulled back her covers, swivelled her legs out the side, and pushed herself out of her hospital bed. She took his hand and met his gaze.

He grinned. "Let me show you our memories."

Opening the window, he turned around and picked her up, pulling her against him piggy back style. She squeaked slightly as he jumped out of the window and he laughed.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

The next chapter is where the NaruSaku really starts.

That's the end of scenes with Sakura's mother in for now. There will be some Sakura teasing throughout the story - mainly by Ino - because I really enjoy writing it. If you read a couple of my other stories you'll likely find banter between Sakura, Tsunade and Ino (usually at Sakura's expense) and it's always for fun and humour purposes.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I really like to reply to them all. I like to get your opinions on my stories or on characters or manga plot lines...on whatever! If you don't want your name showing up on the reviews you can always send me a PM. I will never ask for reviews, but I like to reply to any that you do post - if an anomalous review is the only way you do want to voice your opinion, that's fine with me! This goes for all of my stories, you awesome people. I've been getting nice reviews with no way to thank you. So thank you in advance to anomalous reviewers and to all of you reading, of course.

Thanks for reading! :)


	3. Hillsides and Hopsital Beds

**Amnesia**

Chapter 3: Hillsides and Hospital Beds

* * *

><p>The night was slowly swallowing up the day and as a result Konoha was brightened up with dozens of street lights and shop lights. As Naruto jumped across the roofs, Sakura marvelled at the beauty. She didn't remember her home being this pretty, but she hadn't seen it from this angle before, nor was she often allowed out so late.<p>

It was quite exciting, speeding across the buildings, her arms wrapped around Naruto's front as he carried her. Although she hadn't known him long, she felt comfortingly safe with Naruto, she trusted him to do this. That and she finally got out of that damn hospital room. Her strange, original ease with the place was quickly replaced with boredom and irritation - she didn't want to just sit there and do nothing.

Naruto stopped moving, forcing her attention back to the boy carrying her. They came to a stop on top of a row of buildings, overlooking several open front shops.

"You want to know my favourite place in the world?" He grinned at her over his shoulder.

Sakura smiled back at him, he looked pretty happy. "Sure!"

"Ichiraku's Ramen shop!" he announced rather proudly, glancing in the direction of one of the shops below.

Sakura laughed. "Ramen?"

He nodded enthusiastically and she peered over at where he was looking. "Want to get some then?"

Naruto turned to her more fully. "Definitely...but I guess people shouldn't see you." His smile fell slowly as he realised this, his expression transforming into a pout.

She tried to stop smiling, but couldn't. "Well why don't you go and order some to take away?" she suggested.

He nodded, his grin returning. "Be back in a minute, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura watched as the blond jumped off of the roof and into the light of the street, she then sat down, watching the lights in the distance. She giggled to herself. Naruto's favourite place in the world was a ramen shop, for some reason, that wasn't at all surprising. When Naruto popped back up, she giggled again, he had such a ridiculously wide grin on his face. Handing her the ramen, he picked her up piggyback style once more.

"Where are we heading?" she asked curiously, examining ahead of them over his shoulder in the direction they were going, still gripping the carefully-wrapped bags of ramen in her hand.

While the view was incredibly appealing to the eye, it all looked similar, she honestly didn't know where they were. It was quite a lot to take in, but she should surely recognise some of the buildings. She didn't. It was at night time though, she reasoned with herself. In the daylight, it would probably come back to her. She couldn't begin to guess at where he was taking her though.

"You'll see," was all he said in reply, furthering her curiosity.

After a few minutes of jumping across rooftops, they reached a grassy area nearer what looked like the outskirts of Konoha. He easily climbed up a small hillside, they stopped at the top and he carefully put her down before he sat cross-legged on the ground. She sat by his side, placing the ramen in front of her, and then concentrated on their location.

"We came here once with our team," he told her, smiling at her as she took in the view.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, looking at the sights around her. Even in the dark, she could see the outline of the trees, the hills and flowers surrounding them.

Naruto laughed. "Well just look up."

As Sakura looked up, her eyes widened. Hundreds of thousands of stars filled the night sky - she lay on her back, taking in the beauty of the starry night. It was truly a sight to see. This place was so calming.

"We can stargaze after, Sakura-chan!" Naruto laughed again, pulling her attention back to him.

She sat back up and was presented with a bowl of ramen. She took it slowly, she hadn't expected for him to get some for her also. She hadn't tried it before.

He nodded at her. "Your favourite."

She looked at the contents of the bowl a little closer and raised a curious eyebrow.

He grinned. "Well you would never admit it, but I can tell you like that the most. You say you don't like it because it's fattening or whatever."

"What?" She frowned.

Naruto laughed. "Just taste it! You're too skinny, Sakura-chan. Don't say you were thinking about your weight at eight years old."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Shut up," she murmured before having a mouthful of the ramen. Her eyes widened in surprise as she tasted it. "Wow. That is good."

"See!"

She laughed and hit him playfully. He lost his balanced and went barrelling backwards down the hill in a comedic display of idiocy. Her laughter increased as he toppled to the floor, ramen bowl on head.

When he looked at her and pouted, she laughed even harder - he looked hilariously cute and funny as he sat there. She wished she had a camera to take a picture.

He slowly made his way back up the hill. At first he looked like he could barely hold back a smile, but he sat beside her and pulled a face. His lip quivered up and down again as she stopped laughing and looked at him with a concerned expression.

Moving closer, she picked a strand of ramen out his hair. "Sorry, Naruto, I know ramen is your favourite."

He nodded glumly, looking down. She was still certain he was trying to hide a smile.

"Can I make it up to you?" she asked.

He looked up, pulling a mock thoughtful face before shrugging. "I don't know."

She moved closer to him. When she was only inches from his face, she heard his breathing hitch. She would admit that it looked like she might kiss him and that he looked completely shocked at that idea, but then she pulled away and said, "I'll buy you triple, I promise, now share mine with me."

He pouted and she smirked. He really thought she was going to kiss him as a way of apology. "You're so mean, Sakura-chan."

"Really, why's that?" she questioned, tilting her head at him.

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, for a moment, I thought you were going to kiss me."

Her smirked increased. "Oh really? Would that make up for it?"

He nodded and she shrugged. "Sorry, Naruto, I didn't think about that stuff at eight years old."

He pouted again and she nudged her bowl closer to him.

He shook his head and held his hands up to deny the offer. "I can't eat yours, Sakura-chan. I had eaten most of mine anyway."

She smiled. "Ah but you see, I don't think a little person like me could eat all of this, you know I heard it's fattening."

He chuckled and she smiled, nudging it towards him again, she said, "Please, it's good, I promise."

He nodded and they ate the second bowl together.

When they had finished, Sakura looked up at the sky, marvelling at the clear night sky. "It really is beautiful, thank you, Naruto."

"It really is."

She glanced down to see him watching her. "You know, you're looking the wrong way."

He smiled back at her. "I'm good."

She looked at him and their eyes locked with each other. A small blush crept across her face. His stare was so intense... This whole thing felt like a date. She had been such a tease to him.

She smirked and stood up quickly. "Race you down the hill!" she shouted and charged down the grassy hillside without hesitation.

Not long after, he was by her side and she frowned. "Hey, you're a ninja, don't cheat!"

He chuckled as he overtook her. "So are you!"

Halfway down, she tripped. She closed her eyes, only to find herself rolling down the hill on another warm body.

He caught her.

They landed not far from the bottom of the hill, her on top of him. He smiled at her. Her heart began to race as she stared into his eyes again... Unthinking, she leant forward and closing her eyes, she placed her lips to his.

His eyes widened, but then bringing his hand up to cup her face, he kissed her back.

All time stopped. They were lost, kissing under the stars.

When she pulled away, she saw he looked confused, but she quickly stood up and brushed herself off. "You know, Naruto..." Running a few feet down to the very bottom of the hill, she turned around again. "I win!" she said proudly, raising her hands above her in tight fists, announcing herself victorious.

He laughed and walked to her side, smiling affectionately at her. "It was worth it."

She blushed but smiled back at him, lowering her hands again as she looked at him seriously. She wasn't sure what this meant to her, or him, or their relationship. She had woken up terrified. He made her feel safe. She kissed him.

"I'll take you back now, Sakura-chan, before you're missed." He seemed somewhat distant.

"OK," she replied, trying not to sound disappointed.

Picking her up again, they travelled back to the hospital. With his back towards her, he couldn't see the smile that was yet to leave her face.

They entered her room through the window, only then did she realise how tired she was. She wasn't aware of the time, but it had been dark for quite a while. It had been nice though. Fresh air, food...other things.

Climbing back into her bed and getting comfortable, she looked at Naruto and he stared back at her. "Thank you." She smiled at him before closing her eyes and drifting off into a deep, soothing sleep.

* * *

><p>When morning came, Sakura awoke to a very angry blonde. The Hokage was waiting at the foot of the bed with a scowl on her face. "And where were you last night?" she questioned, her tone less than pleased.<p>

_Wow, she looked terrifying_. Sakura swallowed. Quickly turning her head to see Naruto sleeping on the chair next to her, Sakura stammered, "I-uhh..."

Tsunade stomped over to Naruto and gripped him by the collar with both hands. She rudely shook him awake. "How dare you take Sakura out of this hospital!"

Sakura quickly jumped out of bed, defending the startled boy, who had frozen in his seat. "No! It wasn't his fault, I was feeling down and he just wanted to cheer me up. Blame me!"

Tsunade put down the now very awake blond and looked at her. "Where did you go then?"

"Around Konoha... We sat on a hill to watch the stars and then ate ramen," she explained.

Tsunade laughed. "I was going to say it was very romantic until you said ramen, oh Naruto, _seriously_." She looked at the blushing boy and smirked. "Looks like you spilt half of it down your front, that's very unlike you. What were you two doing?"

Sakura scratched the back of her head. "Umm, that was also my fault."

"Ah." Tsuande gave the young girl an all-knowing look.

Sakura quickly replied, "What do you mean _ah_? What's the look for! I pushed him and he fell down the hill is all."

Tsunade laughed again, she turned to Naruto and winked before heading out of the room.

Then the room was silent, but when Naruto turned to Sakura there was no humour in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Sakura."

She looked at him, confusion replacing her embarrassment. "What for?"

"Last night, the kiss, that wasn't fair on you," he spoke softly. He sounded hurt.

"What do you mean? I kissed you!" she argued.

He shook his head. "Exactly, I should not have let you. I was selfish, I'm sorry."

Before she had any chance to reply, he got up and walked out of the room.

She watched the door where he left. Upset and puzzled.

* * *

><p>When Ino visited her friend, she quickly picked up on her dampened mood, as soon as entered. "What's wrong, Sakura?"<p>

Sakura shrugged sadly. "Naruto."

Ino closed the door and moved to sit by the upset girl. "What did he do this time?"

She shook her head. "He just seemed all upset."

"Why?"

"Well last night he took me around Konoha and I...kissed him."

Ino grinned. "Way to go, Sakura!"

Sakura frowned. "But then this morning he apologised for it, said it wasn't fair on me, left the room all sad."

Ino placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Leave it to me!"

Then she was gone.

Sakura was still sat in bed two hours later when Ino returned.

Business-like, Ino told her, "Naruto acted like that because he felt it wasn't fair on you. Since he didn't think you would have done it if you had your memories. So he felt guilty, it was your first kiss too."

Sakura looked down. "Will you fetch him for me please?"

"Sure thing."

"Thanks, Ino," she said quietly.

"No problem, your relationship with Naruto has always been of my concern." Ino winked.

Sakura smiled as Ino left in search of the wallowing Naruto. It looked like Ino would very happily help her sort this out. Sometimes having a nosy friend paid off.

This was something she needed to fix. She didn't know what her relationship with Naruto used to be like, but he was already important to her and she didn't want to mess it up. The kiss had been an unexpected surprise for both of them. She could apologise and they could forget it. Hopefully, they could still be friends.

* * *

><p>It was quite late when Naruto entered her room. He smiled at her and walked over to the window to stand by it. He looked out the glass, seemingly unable to look at her.<p>

"Naruto, don't stand by the window, come and sit by me, there's no escape," she told him seriously.

She'd had a few hours to mull over what she was going to say to the blond. Naruto sat by her, but kept his distance.

Sakura waited for him to raised his head and then looked him straight in the eye. "Listen, Naruto, you don't have to feel bad. I kissed you because I wanted to. I kissed you because it felt right. Memories or not, I would have been an idiot not to. Maybe I don't remember our past, but I'm still the same person, I have the same feelings and if I do remember, I'll tell you now I won't regret what I did. I promise you that."

He nodded slowly.

"So please, don't act differently or think differently of me because of it."

He smiled. "All right, Sakura."

She smiled back. "Can we go on another trip again tonight?"

He shook his head and she looked down. Maybe he still didn't trust her.

He leaned in towards her and tilted her chin up so she could look him in the eyes again. He kissed her on the forehead before he headed for the door. "Tsunade might kill me if I stole you two nights in a row. Tomorrow, I promise."

Sakura nodded and he left the room. Bringing a hand up to her heart, she breathed slowly, this boy had every emotion known to man coming from her.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

When I first uploaded this, I was fairly new to the website and this was my first uploaded multi-fic. I wouldn't say the story has hit its flow yet. The writing will improve. It very much becomes about the psychology of Sakura's amnesia and everything that makes the situation harder for her. While Naruto is prevalent in the plot, and there is fluff here and there throughout, this is not a heavy romance story.

Here are some of the old author notes:

'There is a small amount of darkness in the next chapter... I don't want to give it away but there will be that element of danger that I mentioned in the summary.

Saturday is the next upload! Likely late afternoon/evening for people in the UK, earlier on for Americans – I don't know any other time zones, but if there is a best suited chapter upload time for everyone I'd be glad to aim for it ^.^ (I personally read at night/early morning hours).

Once again, thanks for reading :).'


	4. The Voice

**Amnesia**

Chapter 4: The Voice

* * *

><p>In the morning, when Sakura woke up, she found Naruto sleeping on the chair next to her. She watched him briefly and smiled. It looked like he was going to keep his promise.<p>

Slowly pushing herself up, so not to wake the guy, she sat with her back against the headboard - but when she looked back at him this time, he was watching her.

"I'm sorry, Naruto! I didn't want to wake you," she apologised sheepishly, giving him a small smile, feeling guilty for disturbing his slumber.

He smiled back at her, not at all bothered. "I'm glad you did, Sakura-chan, we can head out right away."

"In the day?" Her eyes widened, she didn't want to get in trouble with the scary Hokage for a second time - that was a glare she never wanted to receive again. "Won't people see us?"

Naruto just stood up and held out his hand. "I've got permission, so it doesn't matter."

Even though they had permission, they still headed out of the window, which made her smile. Although, once they got down to street level, he put her down and they walked side by side. When they travelled around Konoha, Sakura took in the buildings and the people, trying to remember what was what. She found it very difficult.

"You know..." She tilted her head as she studied her surroundings. "It's a lot different than what I remember."

He didn't look at her as he spoke, "We had a lot of new buildings and some rebuilt."

That would be why she couldn't recognise any of it. They walked around all of the streets, stopping off for a leisurely breakfast (in another place she had never seen before). It was a peaceful and welcome start to the day. In her hospital room, it had been so closed off and serious. Although she could honestly say that the food wasn't that bad, going out for breakfast was a much nicer treat.

As it got nearer lunchtime, it began to get busier and she walked closer to Naruto, finding that she had to navigate through growing crowds of people.

Sakura stopped dead in her path, as she looked beyond the crowd, she saw a small blond boy - her eyes widened when she realised it was Naruto. She remembered this; she looked behind her to see herself, being pulled away from him, the people angry at Naruto, calling him horrible things.

"Sakura-chan? Are you okay?" Naruto broke through her memory.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and looked up at him, smiling, she answered, "Yes, I'm fine."

She didn't tell him - it wasn't like that was a recent memory. That was before she was eight anyway. It wasn't as if she had remembered something her amnesia had made her forget. It was strange though, she felt a little weird, and in the back of her mind she was fighting off another headache.

Naruto smile back at her. "Okay, Sakura-chan, but tell me if you don't feel well, I have to take you back to the hospital if so."

She really didn't want to go back to the hospital. She wanted to explore her hometown, try and make sense of herself and of what was around her. Naruto being her tour guide was an added bonus.

If she looked at the real crowd around her, nobody was glaring at Naruto or calling him names, they all looked friendly and cheerful. She smiled at them all, many smiled back. A few seemed surprised to see her and out of the corner of her eye she thought she caught a couple whispering to each other, one of them glancing at her before quickly averting his gaze.

She wasn't too bothered about the people though. She was excited to see where Naruto would take her next.

They headed to an area labelled 'Training Grounds'.

Naruto ran ahead of her. As they came up to a grassy area secured with fencing and a gate, he opened the way for her and jogged in. She followed him more slowly, studying the new large area. This was a place she hadn't visited before, though it was unlikely her parents would take her to a spot like this. There were going to be many places in Konoha that she had never been to before, it was a big village.

"This is our team training grounds!" Naruto announced excitedly, holding his arms out to either side of him, presenting the area to her with great enthusiasm.

Sakura looked across the field towards the trees in the distance. There were several large holes in the ground and she pointed at them. Naruto grinned and pointed back at her. Her eyes widened. She made those craters? No way...

She walked forward with the intention of studying them, but as she got closer, she saw Kakashi in one. She laughed. She hadn't expected him to be here.

He raised his head as he realised she was there and she had to fight off a strange feeling... It seemed so familiar as he looked up at her. Maybe this was a memory? Something that had happened before?

Jumping out of the pit, Kakashi waved at her in a friendly manner. "Yo, how are you feeling, Sakura?"

"Good, thank you, Kakashi." She smiled back at her teammate.

Then she remembered what Ino had said. Walking up to him, she lifted her hands up to his mask, but before she could hook her fingers under the fabric, he jumped backwards.

He chuckled when she frowned. "What are you doing, Sakura?"

"Ino told me I should look under your mask, since I forgot what you looked like," she told him, confused.

Naruto walked by her side and smiled. "I think Ino was playing a prank on you, Sakura-chan, we've never seen his face."

"Really?" Her eyes widened.

"Yeah," Naruto confirmed, nodding.

"How many years have we known him?" she questioned.

Kakashi stroked his chin in a thoughtful manner. "Six, give or take a few months."

She frowned again. "Then why haven't we seen your face?"

"That mask is stuck to him like glue," Naruto said, pouting in a similar fashion as she had been.

Sakura stepped towards the masked man again, putting her hands on his face...and he vanished into a cloud of smoke, only to end up behind her, still chuckling.

Spinning around, she frowned at him, poking him in the chest. "That's not fair!" she whined.

Pesky ninja, why were they so fast? He just vanished from right in front of her!

Still laughing, he turned around and began to walk away from them.

His amusement annoyed her and so leaning into Naruto, she whispered to him, "Will you beat him up for me?"

Smiling mischievously back, Naruto winked at her, before charging at the masked man. Sakura was surprised at the sudden battle that took place. She could barely keep up with the movements. She found she was following the fight with her head as if watching a tennis game, only it was a lot more deadly. Deciding she had better get out of the way quickly, she ran to the edge of the clearing, resulting in the fight getting even more intense.

Twenty minutes later and they were still going at it. She had ended up sitting down, cross-legged on the ground. There was a certain point where instead of being impressive, it got a little boring. She would have thought the fast-paced fight would have been able to hold her attention for longer, but it was as if she had seen it all before.

To amuse herself, she'd even started picking at the grass. She wanted to see the rest of Konoha! She leant her elbow on her knee and rested her chin in her hand, wondering if they'd pick up on her bored manner.

"Sakura."

Sakura shot up to her feet and span around.

_Whose voice was that?_

"Sakura," it came again. Short, simple, emotionless.

Looking around, she searched for the source of the voice, but could see no one. It had come from behind her, further into the surrounding forest. Something about it made her feel like she knew who it was, so she walked towards it.

Naruto and Kakashi were busy fighting and she didn't want to disturb them. She didn't particularly feel like trying to stop that array of kicks and punches and anyway, Konoha was a really safe place...right?

* * *

><p>It didn't take her long to decide that perhaps this wasn't a good idea. If this person wanted to talk to her, then surely they could have spoken to her in front of her team. So she sat on the floor and waited, her patience failing her. "Listen, whoever you are, if you want to talk, come to me, I'm not chasing you."<p>

Silence.

She waited.

No answer.

Maybe she was just hearing things. Getting up, she decided to head back to the main training grounds. Hopefully her friends had finished sparring now, although she doubted it.

"Sakura."

Swivelling around, she looked at the man standing there. He was the one calling her. Something about him...did she know him? She must do, he knew her. Although the look he gave her...was quite unnerving. She suddenly felt very unsafe.

"I'm sorry...who are you?" she asked politely, giving the man a small smile.

He smirked at her. Well he was certainly handsome. As for his clothes, he wore a grey high-collared short-sleeved shirt and dark blue trousers, tied with a purple-rope belt in the shape of a bow. Her eyes hovered on a long handle that stuck out from his belt... Was he carrying a sword?!

Even if this man was a ninja (and she assumed he was, his arms were fairly muscular), he was in Konoha, he didn't need to openly wander around with weapons. Ignoring it and still forcing her smile, she looked back up at his face - more than anything, she was drawn to that...fair-skin, dark onyx eyes, curtained by chin-length, spiky black hair.

As he spoke to her, his voice was smooth, but his face, completely emotionless - until he smirked, and that made her want to run away. Good looking or not, he sent her alarm bells ringing, deep, deep down.

"How can you forget me?" he mused, taking a step closer.

She instinctively took a step back from him, trying not to sound startled, as she explained, "Traumatic brain injury, I've lost my memories. I'm sorry but I do not remember you."

"Hn."

Hn? That was a strange thing to reply with. She didn't know anybody who spoke like that, or what that was supposed to mean.

"So what's your name?" she asked casually.

He was making her nervous, if he just told her who he was she could accept that while he may be a little creepy, he wasn't going to cause her any harm.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

Her eyes widened and she replied slowly, "Ah, yes, I've heard about you."

Oh...dear. She instantly remembered Ino's words. _He's sort of...a bad guy_. The word 'bad' bounced around in her head repetitively, an unwelcome and scary thought. She was alone with The Bad Guy. She highly doubted anybody would hear her if she screamed.

He took a step closer again. "What have you heard?"

Taking several steps away, Sakura tried to get herself to relax. "That you were on my team, but left Konoha."

"Oh?"

"And that you're a bad person," she added carefully, closely watching his reaction.

He was even harder to read than Ino. Apart from the quirk of his lips, his expression did not change and she didn't know what that meant. She didn't know what he wanted. He was her teammate! Even if he was now a little villainous, he wouldn't want to ill-treat her, right?

What if he wanted revenge for something that she did when she was younger that she didn't even know about? She knew her child-self was harmless, but her younger teenage-self? Who knew what she got up to in the past.

Or he might be here to return to Konoha. He was her friend at some point, surely. It sounded like she had done nothing but give love to him. She stopped her inner-speculation, fearing that unlike her ability to guess what he was thinking, he could read every thought shooting through her panicking brain as she was retreating from him.

His smile widened. He walked forward again but didn't stop until he was directly in front of her.

Stepping backwards one more time, she found herself right up against a tree trunk. "Please don't hurt me," she whispered, her lip quivering in fear.

One more step forward on his end and he was too close for comfort. He reached towards her with one hand and tilted her chin upwards. He looked her in the eyes, but it was as if he were looking straight through her. "Now why would I hurt you?"

She didn't answer. _She didn't know_.

"Tell me, Sakura, do you remember how to fight?" he questioned lazily, lowering his hand from her face, but he didn't move away.

"No," she answered quietly, truthfully.

She really wished she could remember how to fight right now. If she could move as quick as Kakashi or Naruto, she would be running for the hills.

"Heal?" Sasuke pushed.

"No," she said even quieter.

She couldn't do anything. She felt so useless.

"Anything from when you were a ninja?"

"No."

"Our childhood together?" he added, almost sounding interested in her reply.

She shook her head hopelessly, lowering her head.

Sasuke sighed. "That's annoying."

Sakura swallowed and raised her head to watch him again. "Sorry, what did you want me for?"

"I was going to kidnap you or something...but you'd probably die from just a little torture and that would not be any fun at all." He smirked again, wider than before. He looked dangerous. She couldn't place such an evil-looking man in her early memories. _Torture her?!_

"No it wouldn't," she replied nervously. "Why would you kidnap me?"

"To get to Naruto of course. How is he?"

Sakura frowned, her fist tightened instinctively at the mention of harming her friend. "He is fine."

"That's not good, is it?" Sasuke said monotonously, his face still blank.

His hand shot forward to hold her wrist in his grip and she her panicked heightened.

With her other hand, she pushed him away and to her surprise, her push was strong. She watched as he flew backwards several feet into the nearest tree. Her eyes widened at her power, but she didn't wait to see his reaction. Slipping around the tree that she had been forced against, she turned and fled as fast as her legs could take her.

In seconds he was in front of her, anger scorching in his dark eyes.

"Liar," he growled dangerously.

Shaking her head frantically, she gabbled, "No, honestly, I haven't lied."

"Then where did the power come from?" he snarled.

"I don't know," she replied honestly.

Sakura felt a fist connect with her stomach. She fell to the floor and winced in pain, winded from the blow. Forcefully, he pulled her back up to her feet and held her very close, eye to eye, he sneered, "Let me help you remember."

She stared into his eyes as they started spinning, no longer black, but red.

"Tell Naruto, I'm going to kill him. You had better not get in my way, Sakura," was the last statement she heard and he was no longer calm, he was mad.

All of a sudden, she saw herself, she saw Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi, at all different ages, she saw her memories playing out in front of her. No. They were Sasuke's memories - he was in all of them. Wow... She really was harsh to Naruto, she followed Sasuke like a puppy... She cried a hell of a lot and she was completely useless. Although for a lot of them, she looked happy... And then she saw Sasuke on the night he left Konoha. When he knocked her out, she felt the knock to her head and everything turned to black.

* * *

><p>Sakura woke up on a bench. On the same bench he left her on all those years ago... She felt physically and emotionally drained. Pushing herself up slowly, she stood up with a slight wobble, her mind foggy. Was that real? Yes, she knew it was. She ached from the Uchiha's brute actions.<p>

She dawdled back in the direction of the hospital. Truth be told, she was slightly lost, in thought and in Konoha.

Naruto had not taken her this way and she didn't know how to get back - so she just headed to the big Hokage tower, taking whatever turns or path that came her way. She ignored everything around her, too busy in thought. Sasuke had shown her all her memories with him but...she still couldn't remember anything else, which left most of her recent life out.

She was inwardly hoping she was a better person than what she used to be, but right now, she had been just as weak as in her childhood.

She managed to find her way to the tower, but as she entered the building, she realised it didn't help her much, it was so huge... Naruto had always taken her out of the window. Where was the hospital? Was she even in the right building?

An older woman walked towards her slowly.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" the old woman asked, smiling slightly, but she had a clear expression of worry on her face.

"Can you show me which way the hospital is please?" Sakura requested politely, still feeling sluggish and a little depressed.

"Of course, though maybe we should see the Hokage first?" she suggested with a soft expression, but the tone of voice told her that she would insist if Sakura refused.

Nodding, she followed the lady along some more corridors, once again cutting herself off from her surroundings. They stopped outside a large door. The older woman knocked the door and opened it.

Kakashi, Naruto, Ino, a medic she had come to know as Shizune, and Tsunade were all in the room - they looked like they were arguing. The lady who had guided her coughed loudly, pointing to the girl standing in the doorway, she then bowed and said 'Tsunade-sama', before turning to leave.

Sakura turned around to watch her go, shouting a small 'thank you' after her. As she turned back to the people in the room, she was greeted with a mixture of anger, worry and relief.

Shuffling on her feet, she looked around. "Can you tell me where my hospital room is please?"

Naruto ran up to her, his eyes wide. "Where the hell did you go, Sakura?"

Sakura shrugged. "I was following the voice."

The Hokage closed her eyes for a brief moment, but when she looked back at her, her expression gave nothing away. "What voice?"

"Sasuke's," she grumbled, not really wanting to retell the event.

Silence.

"I heard his voice when I was at the training grounds and I didn't feel like jumping in to stop your fight so I followed it," she explained, looking from Naruto to Kakashi and then back at Tsunade.

"Did you physically see Sasuke?" Shizune asked, sounding nervous.

Sakura nodded in reply. "Yes, I spoke to him."

"Did he look young?" Tsunade questioned.

"Why would he look young? He was taller than me." Sakura frowned.

The way he had stood in front her made her feel incredibly small.

"You saw him and knew who he was?" the Hokage continued.

Shaking her head, Sakura replied, "No, he was talking to me as if he knew me and I told him I'd lost my memories and couldn't remember who he was, he had to tell me."

She looked around the room... Their faces showed pure concern.

"You don't believe me," she breathed out in disbelief.

Tsunade answered her calmly, "It is common for brain damaged patients to hear voices and have hallucinations."

"I was not hallucinating! It was real," Sakura insisted, desperately trying to make them see she was telling the truth.

Tsunade nodded but still didn't seem to believe her. "Tell me, Sakura, did the situation feel familiar, like it had happened before?"

"No." Sakura thought about it. "Well he did, but the situation...no."

"Okay," the Hokage frowned slightly. "What happened?"

"Well, after he told me who he was he said it was annoying that I couldn't remember how to fight or anything and I asked what he wanted me for. He said to kidnap me or something, but that now he couldn't because I would probably die from just a little torture and that was no fun." Sakura felt the tension rise in the room, but she continued, "He got a little close, so I pushed him and he flew into a tree!"

She was proud of that, it raised her spirits partly, until she remembered what happened next.

Tsunade frowned. "You knocked him out?"

Sakura's smile faded. "No...I ran like two metres and he got up again, he was all angry, called me a liar because I magically got this strength."

"You channelled chakra?" Tsunade's eyes widened.

Sakura pulled a confused face. "I what? No, all I did was push him, which didn't really work at all... It didn't seem to have an effect on him, unlike the other way around."

Sakura pulled up her shirt slightly to reveal a large bruise from where had had punched her.

Shizune rushed over to inspect it. She raised an eyebrow. "Sakura, have you treated this?"

"No."

"It's been partly healed," the medic explained.

"Maybe Sasuke did it," she suggested.

"Maybe you did it in your sleep," Shizune mumbled.

Sakura giggled. "Yeah, along with my magic strength."

Naruto looked at her, concerned, he asked, "Sakura...did Sasuke mention me?"

She looked at the male, all worried and sad looking. She smiled, trying to be comforting. "He asked me how you were. I told him you were fine."

He looked her in the eyes. "Anything else?"

She looked back at him and paused. She wouldn't tell him what Sasuke said, she looked down. "No."

"I can tell when you are lying, Sakura," Naruto said with a frown.

Her eyes widened but as she looked up, she frowned back. "Same goes for you."

He didn't answer, he appeared confused.

"Was I an annoying twelve year old who was mean to you all the time and followed Sasuke around like a puppy? Being pretty much useless?" she asked, slightly annoyed, he couldn't deny it because she had seen it.

"No," he replied quickly.

"Yes," Ino said at the same time.

Sakura looked down, her anger fading. "His eyes started spinning red. I got all these flashes of 'memories'. I was kind of hoping they were fake... I woke up on the bench he left me on originally and headed back here, though I got a bit lost." She turned to her mentor. "Believe me? I am not insane..."

Tsunade nodded. "I believe you, Sakura, will you show us the tree you punched him into?"

Sakura smiled and nodded. She was still proud of that.

* * *

><p>In a hurry, Naruto carried her back to the training grounds. Tsunade, Ino and Kakashi followed. When they got there, Naruto dropped her to her feet and she walked in the direction of the voice she had heard. Reaching the small clearing, she paused, something didn't feel right. Naruto spotted a dented tree and ran towards it.<p>

"Naruto! Wait!" she shouted after him.

Sakura ran after the eager blond and something happened, she heard a loud 'Ssssss' and saw a bright light. All of a sudden, a large, deafening explosion erupted from the broken tree. Closing her eyes tightly, she suddenly felt the ground beneath her.

When the ground stopped shaking and she felt no pain, she looked up to see Naruto over the top of her. He had protected her from the blast like a shield.

"Naruto! Are you okay?" Her eyes widened in shock as he squinted, as if dazed from the blast.

"Fine, Sakura-chan." He smiled, but then closed his eyes and collapsed on top of her.

Slowing pulling away from him, she gasped at the earth and bark stuck in his back. Ino rushed to her side and inspected him.

"Is he..." Sakura trailed off.

Ino smiled reassuringly at her. "He'll be fine, Sakura, he's always doing this."

Kakashi walked over and helped her to her feet.

Tsunade looked at the scene, studying the now blackened and holey earth around them. "Sakura, did you see Sasuke place an explosive tag?"

"No, I fell unconscious after his red eyes started spinning," she answered.

Tsunade nodded and with a silent order, Kakashi picked up her unconscious friend and they headed to the hospital. This time, it would be Naruto in a hospital bed.

* * *

><p>Sakura watched as Shizune's hands glowed green and Naruto's wounds miraculously began to heal. It was amazing.<p>

Tsunade questioned her, pulling her gaze away from the mystical palms. "Sakura did the voice, or Sasuke, tell you to plant an explosive tag and lead us there?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the accusation. "No! Why would I do that? I wouldn't risk hurting anyone and besides it was you who asked to go there! Where would I even find an explosive?"

"Then Sasuke planted that tag?" Tsunade murmured, frowning at the thought.

Sakura shrugged, that was the only explanation. "I guess, he told me not to get in the way and that he wanted to kill Naruto."

"Knew it."

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked at a now awake Naruto. "I thought you were asleep," she told him quietly.

He just grinned at her.

Tsunade rubbed her temples. "Why didn't you tell us, Sakura?"

With a quick glance at Naruto, she shrugged again.

"Is there anything else you missed out?" the Hokage asked plainly.

"No."

The sannin nodded before sighing. "OK... You can go back to your room now, Sakura, it's the next room on the right."

Sakura looked at Naruto and pouted. "Can't I stay here?"

Tsunade hesitated, but was firm as she added, "It's best if you go to your own room."

Sakura's pout increased, but she obliged and headed back to her hospital room, giving Naruto one more glance before she exited. For someone who just half blew up, he still smiled idiotically widely - you'd think he'd feel a bit injured. Although, Shizune's magical hands might have healed all of his pain, making him instantly better again.

Not long after she had sat back down in her own bed, did Naruto climb in through the window.

She giggled. "I don't see why you just don't take the door."

He smiled in reply and sat on the chair. "I'm too cool for doors."

"Oh that's what it is, is it." Sakura laughed.

She spotted a small cut on his head and leant towards him. Placing her hand on his head, she closed her eyes.

He chuckled. "What are you doing, Sakura?"

"Trying to heal the cut on your head," she murmured.

He watched her open her eyes and frown.

Tracing a finger along her arm, he laughed. "You need to channel you chakra along your arm and into your hands...or something."

She looked him in the eyes. "Or something?"

He smiled back at her. "I've never understood medical chakra."

She pushed him away playfully. "What was the whole tracing your finger down my arm thing then?"

He grinned and she laughed, but she saw something in his eyes, a seriousness that made her wary, her smile faded. "Naruto...what's wrong?"

His eyes widened slightly at her question. "I've got a mission, Sakura, I won't be back for a while."

"Oh...can I come?" she asked hopefully.

Naruto shook his head. "Sorry, Sakura, it's just for me and Kakashi-sensei, but I'll be back soon, I promise."

Sakura nodded, confused at what he meant. He needed to promise her that he would be back? How dangerous was this mission? Why did he suddenly have to leave?

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

'I said this would be a little different. Sasuke is what I wanted to talk about at the end of my last chapter, but I couldn't, or else it would be quite obvious he was coming up. In this story, Sasuke is a little...evil? Psycho? XD He does make the story darker.

Usually when I write his character, he's either similar to how he was as a child, or dark and a slightly cuckoo. I also wrote this a couple of years ago, where I knew nothing of Sasuke's character development, so him appearing like that doesn't really fit into the current canon setting. I just imagined him older, and if he hadn't returned, more evil. Turns out I got his change of heart spot on.

When I posted the last chapter, I had just finished a short SasuSaku, not _really_ a romance story, True Strength, it's also a slightly dark fic.

For a while, this story takes a bit of a break from focusing on Naruto and Sakura's relationship (there are still elements of it, of course) and turns to more about Sakura trying to deal with her amnesia, there's also Sasuke to deal with... At the moment Sasuke being in it allows me to push things along a little. Thanks for all the feedback so far, I will definitely take it into consideration when writing the rest of the story.'

Thanks for reading!


	5. When Everything Goes Wrong

**Amnesia**

Chapter 5: When Everything Goes Wrong

* * *

><p>It was barely a week after Naruto had left and she was bored out of her mind. She still had to stay in her plain, boring hospital room and it was sending her increasingly insane. She had all the time in the world to think and all she thought was '<em>I can't remember anything'. <em>

The memories that Sasuke showed her plagued her mind and her dreams, such a contrast to how Naruto had described her. Her two teammates were so different from each other, on other ends of the moral spectrum. She didn't know who to believe.

Then there was Kakashi, her supposed team leader, she'd barely seen him when he was here – though he did hate hospital. She possibly scared him off too, trying to look under his mask.

As for her other friends, she'd had no visitors. Apart from when people were ordered to come and see her, when she first woke up, nobody else had bothered to see her again. That made her think that Sasuke's visions of her were a more realistic picture of her recent self, but she really hoped that wasn't true. She wouldn't even have wanted to be friends with herself, if that were the case.

She had been younger though, younger than she looked now. She had looked in the mirror. That was a shock. She hadn't pictured herself growing up like she had, although she still had the forehead, which was about all she could concentrate on in her reflection.

It had been strange, like seeing into the future and being shown what you'll look like in ten years time. That would have been fine, if she hadn't missed all those years of when she grew up. Her childhood. Gone. Or that's what it felt like anyway. All she could do was speculate and imagine and those thoughts were never positive. She couldn't even pin down her most recent memory. It was just confusing to think about.

Naruto took her mind off of this. That's why this week had felt far, far longer.

At least Ino checked on her more often, but Tsunade's visits were infrequent with no logical pattern. The Hokage was supposed to be her mentor and whatever that consisted of, she needed right now. Her mother hadn't been back to see her either, so Ino was her only real comfort – and she wasn't always that comforting.

As if on cue with her thoughts, Ino entered the room and asked cheerfully, "How's my special patient?"

Sakura shook her head. She had learnt that anything Ino said was not in any way meant to be a compliment (unless she wanted something from her). Calling her 'special' was not meant nicely.

"Bored out of my mind. When is Naruto back?" she grumbled, well aware she'd asked the same question several times.

"I've told you, I know nothing about his mission, you don't need your boyfriend at your side at all times you know," Ino answered blankly.

Sakura pouted. "Firstly, he is not my boyfriend. Secondly, I'm only bored because he was here almost 24/7 and now I'm left on my lonesome most of the day, and thirdly, I don't believe you."

Ino shook her head and walked up to the bed. "Well personally, I don't want to spend all day with you."

Sakura frowned, whenever she brought up Naruto, Ino or Tsunade got clever and evasive with their words. "You're ignoring me."

"I'm talking to you now," Ino replied with a smile that irritated Sakura almost as much as the sarcastic reply.

"Spoken like a true doctor," she muttered back.

"_You_ are a doctor."

"Ino! Just tell me what mission he had and why it is so dangerous!"

She was worried about Naruto, the way he'd rushed off, so soon after he had just been in a hospital room himself. What was so important that he had to leave immediately? There were plenty of ninjas in Konoha.

Ino shook her head slowly, less teasing. "Sakura-"

"Sakura," the Hokage walked through the door and addressed her student, interrupting the younger medic. "You've been here long enough without any side effects. You can stay with Ino for a while if you want, but you no longer need to stay in a hospital bed all day." With that, the sannin turned and headed for the door.

"Wait, Tsunade-sama," Sakura spoke politely.

Tsunade stopped with one hand on the door handle, but didn't look back at her.

"When will Naruto and Kakashi be back?" Sakura questioned, a little desperately, but not minding that she sounded it because she was feeling increasingly agitated.

"I don't know," Tsunade answered plainly. Leaving no room for reply, she left the room and pulled the door closed.

Sakura sighed and lowered her head. "Why won't anyone tell me?"

Ino looked at her friend. "That's because we don't know. Missions vary in time and some you just can't guess at."

"Well why is Tsunade avoiding me then?" she grumbled, smoothing her bed sheets beneath her fingers.

"She's a busy woman. Now stop being a worrywart and accompany me to my house." Ino smiled at her and gestured to the door with a tilt of her head.

Well, at least she got to get out of this depressing hospital room.

* * *

><p>Sakura's eyes widened at the huge household she entered. "Wow, Ino, is my house this big?"<p>

The blonde laughed, quite cruelly in fact. "Nah, Sakura, you have little apartment. I'm a member of one of the top clans in Konoha...and I still live with my parents."

Sakura laughed back. "At least I'm all grown up and moved out."

Ino shrugged, not caring. "Well, I get more free stuff, have more storage space for clothes and have my own cook! We did talk about sharing a bigger apartment together though."

"So I could be your cook?" Sakura smiled.

"No offence, but you have terrible cooking skills. No skills at all in fact."

Sakura pouted and her friend grinned.

"I on the other hand, am a great cook."

Sakura's pout deepened. "Is there anything you can't do?"

"Nope!" Ino answered happily, leading her along a hallway to the foot of the stairs.

Before they could head upstairs, a man with spiky blond hair on the top of his head and a long ponytail down his back greeted her. "Hello, Sakura. I'm Ino's father, Inoichi, how are you feeling?"

Sakura nodded politely, looking up at the taller man, addressing the household owner, "Nice to meet you. I'm fine thanks. How are you?"

He smiled back at her. "I'm well thank you. I'm sorry to hear about your brain injury. Would you like me to take a look?"

Sakura was silent for a moment. "...Are you a surgeon?"

He laughed and shook his head. "No no, I don't need to cut you open don't worry."

Was he a mind reader or something? Because that was exactly what she was thinking. "OK," she agreed slowly, not sure where he was going with this, but he seemed trustable.

He stepped forward and placed a hand on her head. She swallowed. What was he going to do?

"Relax," he said calmly.

She closed her eyes and suddenly a whole range of memories flashed through her head. It wasn't like Sasuke's memories he had shown her, she could really feel this, it wasn't painful, but it made her head feel weird. All these memories were recent too - her and Ino, her and Naruto and then it went black.

It was over in less than a minute. She opened her eyes to see Ino's father withdrawing, sharing a look with his daughter that Sakura couldn't read.

"Well?" Sakura looked at him with hopeful eyes.

Inoichi gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry, Sakura, at the moment I cannot find your older memories. If they're in there, they are pretty deep."

Well she wasn't really expecting much more from magic hands, she smiled regardless. "OK, thank you anyway."

Ino nudged her before racing up the staircase. "Come on, Sakura!"

Running up the stairs, she followed the cheery blonde to a room at the top of the landing. She cautiously pushed the door, that Ino had entered, further open and then stepped in the room to see her friend flop on a big bed casually. Sakura stood there, taking in all the details of the large bedroom.

"Come on, Forehead, sit down," Ino encouraged, glancing at her.

Pointing to a set of wooden double doors, she asked, "What's behind those doors?"

Ino smirked. "My walk in wardrobe and closet, what else?"

Of course it was. Shaking her head, Sakura sat on the bottom of bed, still taking in what was around her.

Ino sat up slowly and gave her a funny look. "What are you doing?"

Confused, Sakura replied, "What?"

Ino shrugged. "You usually sit on the floor."

Sakura raised an eyebrow and glanced at the floor. Ino didn't let her sit on the bed? Was she too lower-class for her expensive friend or something? Looking back at her Ino, she frowned when she saw the blonde holding in a laugh.

"Oh, Forehead, you're so gullible, even more so than before." Ino grinned, highly amused.

"You're a terrible person, Ino," she muttered back.

The blonde just smiled and flicked her hair over her shoulder. "I know."

Well, at least this had been a lot better than being stuffed in a hospital room all day.

* * *

><p>Sakura had a tour of the house, they had a great lunch and they talked together just like old friends - it had been a lot of fun. It was a great distraction from her thoughts and situation.<p>

Sakura smiled as her friend twirled about in her walk in wardrobe with pretty dresses and dainty shoes. "Thanks for this, Ino."

Ino stopped spinning and smiled. "It's fine, Forehead, you know I'm such a great friend and everything, besides, it's no bother, you can have the spare room. By the way, we're going to a party tonight."

"We are?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. That was news to her.

Turning her attention back on the dresses, Ino grinned. "Yep!"

It was already getting quite late, she thought it would be bedtime soon..."What will I wear?" she said unenthusiastically, seeing if she could swindle her way out of it. "I have no appropriate clothes."

Ino scanned the dresses with a thoughtful expression, pulling out a dress. She held it up for her friend to see and asked, "How about this?"

Sakura gazed at the material. "Isn't that a bit...short?"

Ino smirked. "Short? Noo, you've worn shorter believe me, try it on with some heels, it'll look good."

The blonde then pulled out a pair of high heels from behind her back and grinned.

Sakura looked at her awkwardly before sighing. She wasn't going to get out of this one.

* * *

><p>Sakura walked, rather uncomfortably, beside Ino as they headed towards the party. Why she agreed to come, she didn't know. Why she agreed to wear the dress and heels, she didn't know either. The little black dress she had borrowed showed off much more of her skin than she was comfortable with, and the high heels (while miles shorter than those that her friend was currently wearing) were a nightmare to walk in.<p>

Ino stopped walking and looked back at her friend, a smirk growing across her face. "Sakura...why are you walking like a flamingo?"

Sakura frowned. "This dress is too short, Ino, I think you were lying when you said I've worn shorter."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Still on about that? Don't worry, Forehead, my dress is even shorter. All attention will be on me, believe me."

Winking, the blonde pulled her friend along until they reached a run-down looking building. They entered it and to Sakura's surprise, for such a small place, it was packed. Loud music was bursting out of speakers from somewhere in the room. Ino casually walked in and winked at a boy on a nearby table and he immediately got up. She then signalled for Sakura to sit down and walked off with said boy.

_Great. Ditched already._ She wasn't at all surprised. Sitting down, Sakura watched as her friend and this boy disappeared into the crowd.

She sat there for a few minutes. Maybe she could get out now. She might not find her way back to Ino's house that easily, but going outside beat staying here – although she didn't feel very comfortable walking in what she was wearing, nor could she even move about very well in these heels.

"Looking hot, Sakura!" a voice from the crowd shouted.

Sakura looked around to see a brown haired boy sit down opposite her - she recognised him and was sure she knew his name, it was...

"Kiba."

To Sakura's relief, Ino returned and signalled for Kiba to get up.

"Aww, come on, Ino, I was just having a little fun." The boy ginned, showing off a set of white, fang-like teeth. Kiba reminded her a bit of an animal when he smiled, his eyes were sharp and his hair wild.

Ino was having none of it. She stood there with her hands on her hips, until the male decided to move. Once he stood up, she pushed passed him and sat down, scooting to the middle of her seat. "Hitting on Sakura? No way dog boy, clear off."

Yes, he reminded her a bit of a dog (in the kindest way possible), his teeth were very canine-like, perhaps that's where he got the nickname 'dog boy'... Ino called him 'dog boy', her 'Forehead', she often referred to Naruto as 'lover boy', maybe Ino was one of those people who went around giving people (usually mean) nicknames.

She wasn't quite sure about anything with Ino. One minute she felt like the blonde was her best friend, and the next, like she was an acquaintance or even an annoyance at best. Their friendship was exhausting, but somewhat exciting to her. She would have never done this without a big, enthusiastic push.

With a lazy smirk shot in Sakura's direction, Kiba wandered off back into the crowd.

Ino shook her head and Sakura smiled. "Thanks."

"Don't worry, Forehead, we stick together. Here drink up," Ino answered with a smile, sliding a very large glass of alcohol her way, her smile increasing as her friend's eyes widened.

Sakura looked at the drink sceptically, simply stating, "I don't drink."

Ino smirked. "I may have been lying about the dress, but believe me, Sakura, your alcohol tolerance is so high you have drinking competitions with the Hokage. Just drink one, if you feel no different, which you won't, we'll grab another."

Sakura nodded slowly, bringing the glass to her lips. She was interested, and old enough to drink, so she'd just have one small taste.

* * *

><p>Seven glasses later and she now believed Ino. Her alcohol tolerance was high! She was quite enjoying this... Ino, however, was slightly tipsy.<p>

"You know, Sakura! I should have hit you over the head sooner... You're _waaay_ more fun now! You don't usually let me drink this much - and you are _sooo_ into Naruto now." The blonde winked, speaking a little too loudly, a slight slur to her tone.

Sakura didn't know what to do with Ino. She didn't feel like walking alone with her drunken friend outside, but maybe she could get some advantages out of her friend's current stupor.

"So Ino, where's Naruto?" she questioned casually, sipping her drink.

The blonde giggled. "Who knows."

"Well what is he doing?" she pressed on.

"He and Kakashi are chasing Sasuke somewhere."

Sakura's eyes widened. What? Isn't that really dangerous? Sasuke is trying to kill Naruto! Why would they chase him? "Why, Ino?"

Ino smiled lazily at her. "Bless Naruto, he got all riled up when Sasuke had hurt you. He wants to go and get him in case you never get your memories back, then he can't hurt you."

Sakura just stared at her friend. Why was he allowed to do this?! Why would the Hokage, her friends, let him do something so daft?

"Chillax, Sakura, Naruto is like...strong," Ino mumbled before falling face forward.

As Ino's head hit the desk, Sakura's nerves grew tenfold. _Nice._ Ino was unconscious and the brain-damaged girl with no fighting skill, who gets lost in Konoha, needed to get them to Ino's house.

To her relief, she spotted Kiba in the crowd. She waved at him to come over.

He smirked and walked up to the table. "What's up, Sakura?"

Trying to smile politely, she pointed to Ino. "Kiba, can you please help me get her home?"

Kiba nodded."Sure thing, Sakura, as long as you come back to my house later."

Her eyes widened. _What?_

Seeing the look on her face, he laughed. "Kidding, but you'll owe me one, all right?"

That was not a funny joke...but at least he agreed. She could finally go to bed. She felt rundown with all this alcohol and newfound knowledge of the dangerous situation Naruto and Kakashi were in. Sakura nodded and stood up.

Kiba picked up the unconscious Ino, easily carrying her over his shoulder (despite the fact that he seemed tipsy himself) and they headed out of the bar.

As soon as they were walking down the street, Sakura smiled in relief, glad to be out of the claustrophobic building.

Note to self: _Never go to a party alone with Ino again._

"You look nice tonight, Sakura," Kiba told her, glancing over the shoulder Ino wasn't draped over.

Note to self: _Wear a longer dress._

"Thanks..." she answered awkwardly.

Kiba smirked. "You're welcome, babe."

Babe? Sakura wrinkled her nose at the name. As she looked at him, she wasn't sure if he was just messing with her.

He must have noticed, because he laughed. "Don't worry, Sakura, I always talk to you like this. You usually hit me."

Note to self: _Hit Kiba_.

That made perfect sense.

All of a sudden, he stopped in his tracks, his nose twitching as he sniffed the air in front of him. "Hold on, Sakura."

She paused, looking at him in confusion when he handed her Ino and took what looked like a fighting stance in the middle of the street.

"What is it?" she asked, trying to balance her unconscious friend on her own feet, but leaning the blonde's body against hers, to carry her weight.

Stepping in front of them protectively, he frowned and growled out, "Trouble. Sakura, when I tell you, you run to the Hokage Tower, got it?"

Sakura's eyes widened at his tone and order. "You're kidding? In these shoes, in this dress and carrying Ino, you want me to run?"

Kiba didn't look back at her. "_Yes_. Listen, Sakura, you're in danger. Put Ino down, I'll protect her. Now, run!"

Placing her friend on the ground, Sakura ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction, completely baffled, but trusting her dead-serious friend. She heard an explosion behind her but didn't stop to look back. She only picked up the pace as she imagined some kind of fight erupting between Kiba and God knew who.

"Tell Tsunade I'm gonna need Akamaru!" Kiba shouted after her, a slight panic to his voice.

What in the world was going on? Why was she in danger? And what was an Akamaru? Some kind of weapon? A drug? A medic? She shook her head, concentrating on running as fast as she could, stumbling every now and then in her footwear.

Ino would never get her to wear high heels again.

Sakura kept glancing up at the Hokage Tower, glad she was going to somewhere with a visual guide, although she probably wasn't choosing the fastest route. If only she could jump across the roofs like Naruto.

She'd managed to choose a dead route. There was nobody was about as she rushed through darkened streets, her heart beating rapidly as fear of the unknown overtook her body.

She didn't make it back to the Hokage Tower.

She sensed nobody around her, but suddenly everything went black.

* * *

><p>Sakura woke up, bemused. She really hoped she got drunk and Ino took her home, then she had some terrible, alcohol-induced dream. She blinked several times, she was in a dark room, but she wasn't on a bed. The floor beneath her was cold stone.<p>

"Sakura."

Her eyes widened - _Sasuke!_ She shot up into a sitting position before scrambling up from the floor and turning around in a disoriented circle. Looking around, she couldn't see anything, there was no light. She walked in a circle again, until she stopped dead when in front of her she could just about see the outline of Sasuke.

She swallowed as he opened his eyes - the red of his pupils were the only visible thing in the room.

"S-Sasuke?" she stammered nervously.

She wasn't quite sure, but she assumed he was smirking.

"Why am I here?" Sakura questioned.

Naruto was supposed to be after him! Why did Sasuke get back into Konoha when her team were out looking for him? They were OK, right? They had to be. Naruto had told her he would be.

"I changed my mind, maybe you are worth kidnapping. Nice dress by the way," he answered darkly.

She felt sick, moving as far back as she could and pulling her dress down as far as possible as she moved, she attempted to get away from the Uchiha.

Then she heard something behind her, a low hiss - a snake? Quickly turning on her heels in fear, she backed away from the noise. Straight into Sasuke. His arms snaked around her and she froze.

A low chuckle emitted from him. "See? Resistance is all well and fun, but this won't be so bad either. I doubt you would have been a match for me anyway."

She struggled to pull away but couldn't escape his grip. Slamming her heel down onto his foot, she managed to loosen his hold on her. She ran blindly towards the nearest wall until she felt the stone with her outstretched palms.

Fumbling around, she searched for a door handle as he cursed behind her. In luck, she found a door, pulling as hard as she could. She yanked the dark frame open before sprinting through the newly revealed hallway.

This whole place was stone. It looked like an underground lair, although the ceiling above her was a long way up. She ended up in a wide corridor and began running in the first direction she faced. It wasn't long before he was in front of her. How could she get out of such a mess?

The corridor she was in now was still incredibly dark, but the odd torch dotted along the wall allowed her to see him slightly better. Further down, it looked like every so often, more torches lined the walls.

She didn't really want a better visual though, he towered above her, his stance powerful and his face still dark apart from those dangerous eyes. She could see his smirk though and she took a step backwards.

"Where's Naruto?" she asked, her voice shaky.

Maybe if she could just talk long enough for someone to rescue her.

His smirk widened and shrugged. "He's slow today. He's usually here by now."

That meant he was safe...right?

"What about Ino and Kiba?"

"Dead."

Sakura froze, dread filling her. "No...I don't believe you."

He grinned wickedly. "Do you really think an unconscious girl and her drunken protector would be any match for me?"

"But...why?" she asked, her voice quieting.

Did she just get her two friends killed?

"They got in my way," he said simply.

_No... He wouldn't, he couldn't... he wouldn't!_

"I don't believe you!" Sakura shouted, anger consuming her at his lack of respect for other's lives, her friends' lives, his ex-friends lives.

He smirked again and walked forwards. "Want me to show you?"

For every step forward he took, she walked backwards two, desperately not wanting to see that memory. "No."

"Are you sure? It was quite entertaining," he answered wickedly.

His eyes began to spin and images flashed in front of her eyes - as she ran off, Sasuke attacked Kiba, stabbing him through the stomach with his sword before turning on the defenceless blonde. Sakura shut her eyes tightly in an attempt to drown out the images. It was her fault, she got them killed... It was her stupid brain injury! If she didn't hit her head then none of this would have happened.

As she opened her eyes again, he was right in front of her. Fighting the tears beginning to form, she stared at him with hatred-filled eyes.

When he saw this, his smile dropped a little. "Come on, Sakura, you love me right?"

"Hell no," she spat at him.

"That's not what you told me the last time I saw you."

His eyes spun again and she saw more recent memories, she was a lot older, trying to...go with Sasuke? Why would she do that? All of a sudden, it was her sneaking behind him, she cried as he turned on her and strangled her, but Naruto saved her... Despite everything, she smiled at that, Naruto always saved her.

He would save her now too, she knew it. She believed he would somehow find her in this horrible place and be her guiding light in the dark.

Smiling more confidently, she clenched her fist. "You know what, Sasuke? You're a messed up boy who can't let things go. You think you're in control and that you know what you want, but I've got a news flash for you...you don't."

He scowled dangerously and brought a hand up to her neck. "Would you like to repeat that?"

Sakura didn't flinch. "Picking on the defenceless brain-damaged girl? How noble of you. Can you not beat Naruto in a fair fight? Is that why you've been running all these years, you're just weak and-"

His grip tightened and it was incredibly hard to breathe. Sasuke's eyes shone dangerously with anger, as she struggled to take in air. She reached up with her own hands and attempted to pull his hand from around her neck, but could only feel her feet lifting off the ground.

Her vision began to grow blurry and she felt herself losing consciousness. Her eyes were shut tightly, as he choked her, she was unable to free herself from his hold.

All of a sudden, Sasuke was barrelled away from her and she fell to the hard ground. She coughed and spluttered, her breathing erratic, as she as took in much-needed air. Someone was by her side in an instant, helping her to her feet. The corridor swayed through her hazy vision but she watched as a flash of black and orange ran past her.

Her eyes widened. _Naruto!_ She blinked until the spots in front of her eyes cleared and she could see her friend more clearly.

"How dare you hurt, Sakura-chan!" Naruto growled, sounding dangerously angry, a sharp contrast to his usual tone. His fists were in tight balls by his sides.

Sasuke just smirked at the enraged blond. "Hurt? We were just having a little fun. She even got all dressed up for me."

Sakura frowned. As Naruto turned to look at her, she shook her head. He smiled, only to be punched in the stomach, bending over forwards at the force of the blow.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted before attempting to run to him.

It was Kakashi who held her back. "Sakura, please stay out of the way. Don't worry, he'll be fine."

She nodded, trusting Naruto. Despite the horrible feeling in her gut, she allowed herself to be pulled backwards before Kakashi walked forward to face the young Uchiha also.

That was until she saw something sharp flying towards her face, Kakashi was back in front of her in an instant, her in his grip as he pulled her away. She let out a breath as the weapon thrown in her direction landed in the wall past her, but as she glanced behind her, she saw some kind of paper on the end of the metal.

She knew what it was the second it burst into flames and she heard the dreaded '_ssss_'. Kakashi hastily carried her away again as an explosion erupted.

Her eyes were shut tightly as the tremor shook the walls and floor around her. They were _underground_. The whole ceiling was going to collapse on top of them if they were not careful. The path behind them was now blocked by rubble. Neither of the fighting males seemed to notice though, and Kakashi didn't try to help again. It seemed Sasuke would target her if the older man did try and intervene.

Kakashi stood in front of her protectively, holding his arm out slightly behind him, silently ordering her to stay still. They were effectively trapped in the corridor.

She saw Kakashi reach up and move his Konoha headband up from his eye, she didn't know why, so turned her concentration back to Naruto. She felt way too close to the fight, despite being behind her friend, but leaned around his one side to see what was happening anyway.

Sakura watched in horror as they fought, it looked so painful, she could barely keep up with the movements as they hit and kicked each other. She thought the fight between Naruto and Kakashi was bad, but this made her want to be sick.

She didn't need her memories to tell that they had fought like this before. Just the way they moved, she could see they had a bond, good or bad, she wasn't sure. Ninja techniques were not something she was acquainted with, she almost felt cheated when both of them seemed to take fatal blows, only to burst into smoke and suddenly be somewhere else. Witnessing this wore her out physically, her eyes darting between them as they danced around, seeming to gradually move away from them.

She didn't know who was winning - Naruto, hopefully.

The fighting seemed to drag on forever, but even as they moved further away from them, she didn't feel safe. After a mid air clash, both of the males were barrelled backwards towards the floor. Naruto skidded as his feet connected with the ground. He came to a halt a couple of meters in front of her. Sasuke landed similarly further down the corridor and both of them raised their heads at the same time.

She watched a blue ball of light form in Naruto's hand by his side, only to have her eyes drawn to Sasuke as he seemed to do something similar, a deafening sound of...birds coming from his direction? Her eyes widened when both Naruto and Sasuke seemed to summon a massive amount of energy in their hands, it ever-growing as they charged at each other.

The whole corridor lit up a blue and white, no longer the dark cavern and a fight by torch light.

As they collided, Sakura felt Kakashi's strong grip pull her downwards, somehow into the rock that was beneath them. Another ninja trick, presumably, one she was glad for this time. The explosion above them was muffled, but still enough to be deafening.

While she didn't want to be underground, it sounded a lot better than being above it. Her heart was rapidly pounding against her ribcage, as she waited for the thunderous impact of the two ninja, and the after effects of falling cave debris, to tone down.

When all she could hear was the sound of her harsh breathing, Kakashi spoke, "You're OK, Sakura."

Her head shot up, she was OK, Kakashi was OK, but... "Naruto?" she replied worriedly.

As Kakashi re-opened the rock that was above them, she wasn't greeted by immediate light. He pulled her up and out of the hole, through a layer of dirt and dust, and her eyes widened at what she saw. The whole corridor had collapsed in places, natural light shone through various cracks in the walls and ceiling.

When Sakura spotted Naruto lying in amongst a pile of rubble, she sprinted to his side without hesitation.

"Naruto!" she yelled at his unmoving form, feverishly pushing smaller bits of rock away him that surrounded his body, attempting to wake him.

_He wasn't responding._

"Oh, Sakura, if only you could remember how to heal, then you might be able to save him," Sasuke said his last words before disappearing into complete darkness further down the tunnel. He didn't speak loudly, but it was loud enough to have the words repeating in her head again and again.

Sakura panicked. Right! Remember how to heal. Channel her chakra down her arms, into her hands...what the hell was chakra? Placing her hands to his head, she tried to make them glow green just like she had seen the other medics do. Nothing happened.

Tears began to form in her eyes as she sat there hopelessly.

Then he opened his eyes and looked up at her, speaking softly. "Don't cry, Sakura-chan."

She looked back at him, unable to control her weeping. "I'm sorry, Naruto, this is my fault."

He smiled comfortingly. "No it isn't... You look awfully pretty by the way."

Sakura wiped her eyes and smiled slightly before she explained lamely, "Ino made me go to some party."

Naruto chuckled weakly, still smiling. "That sounds about right."

When he stopped laughing, she met his gaze. His face fell, becoming more serious as he stared into her eyes.

Concentrating as hard as she could, Sakura shut her eyes. She would save Naruto, because he meant everything to her, and no brain injury was going to stop her.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

I remember this chapter wasn't so popular with some readers. I can see why. I've put quite a bit more work into it...especially the fight scene, but fighting wise, it's still quite lazy. I am bad with fight scenes in general – Sakura not being able to keep up with the movements is a bit more of an excuse to not go into all sorts of jutsu detail. I do apologise for that though.

The majority of these old author notes were lots of boring facts about my life at the time of posting this, so I've just cut all that out.

Even though this chapter is so old now, and I still don't think the plot has found its feet at this point, I'm still interested in your thoughts on it. If you're someone who has a lot of questions, some may be answered in the next chapter.

Thanks for reading!


	6. Unanswered Questions

**Amnesia**

Chapter 6: Unanswered Questions

* * *

><p>Sakura woke up in the hospital, the same old room she had finally gotten out of merely days ago. While it was retrogression being back in the uncomfortable bed, it was much better than where she had previously been.<p>

Pushing herself up and feeling no pain, she felt an immediate wave of relief wash over her when she noticed that Ino was sat by her side. "Ino! You're alive!" she exclaimed. "Was I dreaming all that?"

Ino smiled comfortingly and shook her head. "Of course I'm alive. Kiba is fine too... In fact, I think Tsunade did more damage to him than Sasuke did. She was furious when she found out that Sasuke had gotten into Konoha again...and it wasn't a dream, look, you're still wearing my dress."

Sakura looked down to see her friend was right. She was still in the uncomfortably short dress that Ino had picked out for her. "But what happened?"

Ino grinned. "You healed Naruto! But then passed out."

Sakura frowned. The last thing she could remember was being incredibly panicked, failing miserably to even stop her tears, let alone start healing the injured boy. "I don't remember... Is he OK?"

"He's fine, Sakura. I'm sure he'll be in here to talk to you soon."

Sakura relaxed, eased when she found Naruto was all right. She healed him but could not remember. He was fine, that's all that mattered - although she was confused about a lot of things, about everything, really.

Tsunade opened the door and walked into the room. Sakura looked up and smiled, hoping her mentor wasn't as mad now than she was when she was 'doing damage' to Kiba.

"Sakura, do you remember healing Naruto?" the sannin asked, she was serious and straight to the point, not even offering a greeting before she got down to the questions.

"No," she answered truthfully, just as abrupt.

"How did you heal him?" Tsunade inquired, looking her up and down as if she were trying to spot any changes that had resulted from the event.

Sakura shrugged, as clueless as everybody else. "Channelled chakra down my arms, or something."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Or something?"

All of a sudden Naruto was sat next to her. He grinned and replied for her, "That's how I told her you heal."

"Ah," Tsunade answered, her shoulders slouching ever so slightly.

Sakura couldn't help noticing that the older medic was disappointed, but she wasn't feeling much sympathy. "So, you're not too busy to talk to me now? You've been avoiding me all week."

Sakura frowned, annoyed that she only got to answer questions and not ask them. She was also annoyed that her mentor had avoided her, and not let her know that Naruto was out chasing her psychotic ex-teammate.

The Hokage shrugged absentmindedly. "I'm always busy, especially since I don't have my apprentice to do paperwork for me," she answered, and with a quick nod to Ino, the older medic left the room.

Sakura watched her go. When the door shut, she sighed. "Have I done something wrong?"

Ino glanced at the closed door before shaking her head. "No, I think she was just hopeful that you would remember something."

Sakura nodded glumly, the anger faded away as she realised she was just a big disappointment again. Seeing Sasuke hadn't been a pleasant experience. While it strengthened her already strong faith in Naruto, her faith in herself (that had risen since she spent time with Naruto and a little with Ino) faltered.

Sasuke seemed to think lowly of her; she was just bait to him, fun to upset. The images he has showed her were fresh in her mind. She looked at Ino seriously. "Sasuke keeps showing me memories, how's that possible? Although, the one of you dying was fake..."

Naruto jumped up and ran out of the room. She was startled at his speed and for a second she thought she had hurt him again, until moments later he returned with Kakashi. The masked man smiled in greeting.

"Kakashi-sensei! Can you show Sakura-chan her memories with the sharingan?" Naruto asked enthusiastically, pulling his team leader into the room.

Kakashi paused and looked at the younger male questioningly. "Is that a good idea?"

Naruto shrugged, not seeing any problems with his plan, simply stating, "Sasuke did it."

Kakashi moved towards her and sat on the end of the bed, twisting to face her.

"Do I get to see your face?" Sakura asked hopefully.

Kakashi chuckled and pulled his headband off from over his eye, much like he had done in the Naruto and Sasuke fight, and she saw why. His eye was much like Sasuke's, she found herself looking into a single red and black gaze.

That similar red eye was spinning and a whole new range of memories flashed before her. They seemed to jump from her being a little girl to more like now. There were missions and training sessions and...that's why it felt familiar when he jumped out of that crater - she made one just like that! She had definitely changed from being a small weak girl to now. She couldn't believe the power she seemed to release from simply punching the ground.

When the visions faded, she smiled, appeased by the more appealing memories of her past. "Thanks, Kakashi-sensei."

He nodded and gave her a friendly eye crease, but she couldn't help thinking he looked more sad than happy. Trying to cheer him up, she asked, "Now can I see your face?"

The next smile seemed more genuine as he got up and left the room, leaving her with her two teenage friends.

"So how do you feel now?" Ino asked.

She felt better than a moment ago, but...

"I feel like I'm missing sections of my life out," she mumbled.

Naruto looked sad again and she frowned, frustrated, she brought a hand to her head. "Ugh! I'm bringing everybody down because I can't remember!"

Ino smiled slightly. "I prefer you as you are now anyway."

Sakura raised an eyebrow and turned to Naruto. Did he like her more than before?

The sad look had gone from his eyes as he looked at her and added, "You can remember, Sakura-chan, maybe it will just take some time."

Nodding, the pinkette agreed, "I sure hope so."

Naruto smiled encouragingly at her.

There was a small silence before Sakura asked the blond, "So, your mission was to find Sasuke?"

He nodded slowly.

"_Why_ didn't you tell me?" Sakura frowned before turning to Ino. "Why did nobody tell me?"

"I told you." Ino shrugged.

"You were drunk," she pointed out, rolling her eyes.

"Still told you." The blonde grinned.

Sakura shook her head.

Naruto looked at her seriously, not as amused as the party girl. "Sakura-chan...we were just trying to protect you."

Sakura raised her hand and clenched it in a fist, as if to strike the boy. Naruto immediately cowered and she paused.

She didn't know why... but she really wanted to hit him. She had been so _worried_. Lowering her hand again, she frowned. "Don't do it again."

Naruto looked up and grinned at her. "Yes ma'am!"

Sakura shook her head again. "How did you even find me?"

"We found Sasuke's temporary hideout...but he wasn't there." Naruto placed a hand over his heart. "And I had this feeling that you were in danger, so we sped back to Konoha to find that he had taken you. We turned straight back around and found you and him when we got back to his hideout."

Sakura frowned. "How did he even get into Konoha? Was he that close? If he was travelling from Konoha to his hideout and you were travelling from his hideout to Konoha, how come you didn't meet in the middle?"

Naruto swallowed. "We don't know. The barrier didn't pick him up, he wasn't tracked, he was within Konoha borders and we didn't know about it."

Ino saw the worry in Sakura's friend's eyes and shot a warning glance at the male. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"Why not?" Sakura frowned.

Naruto cleared his throat. "He thinks I'm dead, he won't come back. You don't have to worry, Sakura-chan, you're safe now."

"Is that the truth?" Sakura looked him in the eyes.

"Yes," Ino replied for him.

Sakura looked to Ino before looking back at Naruto. He smiled.

"OK then." She nodded, giving them the benefit of the doubt.

While she still had questions, she didn't want to upset her friends if they thought this Sasuke ordeal was over. Perhaps she would ask more about it when it had all blown over.

* * *

><p>A month later and Sakura still had no recollection of her ninja life before she woke up in the hospital, not even the memories she had been shown sparked anything - it was like they were dreams, it wasn't really her she had seen in the vision.<p>

Naruto left on a mission yesterday, which meant her life was about to get considerably more boring for a while. She was still living with Ino, but she had her own apartment apparently. Why couldn't she live there? The question was growing in her mind. There was nothing wrong with living with her best friend, but Sakura was accustomed to fitting in around Ino's lifestyle and she was really ready to make her own routine.

Sakura got up out of bed, very awake despite only waking up mere minutes ago (which was rare for her). Her thoughts had her mind reeling with questions.

She walked across the Yamanaka's landing until she came across her friend's room, knocking the door, she entered to see her friend already dressed and tying up her hair in the mirror.

"Hey, Ino," she said, attempting to sound cheerful.

The blonde glanced at her in the mirror and smiled. "Morning, Forehead, you're up early."

Sakura nodded slowly. "So are you."

"I work at the hospital today," the blonde answered with a shrug.

Walking further into the room, Sakura sat on the bed and watched her friend getting ready. "Can I come with you?"

Ino hummed. "Why?"

"Naruto's on a mission..." Sakura trailed off.

Ino smirked. "And you have no other friends."

The pinkette pouted. "Do to."

"Like?" Ino pushed, her amusement growing.

"Kakashi...Kiba, uhh..." Sakura frowned, not able to think of anybody else. "All those people who came to see me in the hospital."

Grinning, Ino moved her head from side to side to observe her newly-tied ponytail, before standing up. "They're not your friends. They were just people in your year who were ordered to come and see you by the Hokage."

Sakura pouted.

"So yes, you can come to the hospital with me. I don't know what you'll do mind you."

"OK." Sakura nodded, just pleased that she would get to go to work with her. "I'll go get ready."

"Be quick," Ino told her. "There are only so many times that I can use the excuse 'my brain-damaged friend made me late'."

Sakura shook her head but speedily left the room to get showered and dressed.

She was fairly sure she had yet to make Ino late.

* * *

><p>On the way to the hospital, Sakura glanced around at all the houses, her mind once again focussed on her own living space. "Hey, Ino? I have my own house right?"<p>

"You have an apartment, yes," Ino confirmed.

"Why can't I live there?" she asked curiously.

Ino raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "Bored of me already?"

"No," Sakura shook her head, "I'm just wondering why I have to live with you, even though I have my own place."

"That's what Tsunade ordered." Ino shrugged.

"So I need to ask her about it?" Sakura mumbled. "But she barely talks to me. I thought she had been my mentor for years."

Ino sighed. "She has. I think it's been hard on her. You've forgotten everything she's taught you over the years. You don't even know who she is."

Sakura lowered her head, staring at her feet. "So I'm a big disappointment to her."

Ino was silent for a moment, thinking carefully before she added, "I think she just misses you."

Sakura's eyes widened and she raised her head again to study her friend. "Do you?"

Ino gave her a small smile. "I told you, Sakura, you're way more fun now."

* * *

><p>When they reached the hospital, Sakura smiled at Ino, her mind made up. "I'm going to go and talk to Tsunade-sama."<p>

Ino raised an eyebrow, but accepted her plan, watching as her friend turned around to exit the building again. "OK, I'll come and find you when I head home, don't get lost."

Sakura glanced behind her and frowned slightly. "I won't get lost."

Ino watched her as she walked down the path and took a left.

"Sakura!" Ino shouted after her, moving back to the entrance to hold the front door open as it began to close behind the pinkette.

Pausing, Sakura looked back to see the blonde smirking and pointing in the other direction.

"Wrong way, Forehead."

Turning around in a disorientated circle, Sakura looked either side of the path before shaking her head and walking in the other direction.

* * *

><p>Sakura stood outside the Hokage's office, not quite sure whether to knock or even what she was going to say.<p>

Tsunade must have sensed her, because Sakura heard the Hokage shout, "Come in!"

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and entered the room.

"Finally, Sakura, you've not forgotten how to open a door now have you?" Tsunade asked, smiling at her.

Sakura didn't know whether that was a joke or not, she awkwardly replied, "No."

The sannin looked back down to continue reading the book open on her desk.

Sakura shuffled about slightly when her mentor didn't say anything else.

Tsunade glanced back up. "Forgotten what you were going to say?"

Sakura frowned. "No."

"Spit it out then." Tsunade smirked.

"Can I live in my old house?" Sakura asked.

The Hokage raised an eyebrow, surprised at the request, and then glanced down at her reading material again. "Why? Ino annoying you that much?"

Sakura shook her head. While Ino did manage to annoy her frequently, the blonde offered her familiarity and prevented her from getting lost as much. "I'd like to see it and maybe live there again," she explained, looking hopeful in case her mentor raised her head once more.

Tsunade sighed and flicked over the page. "I'm sorry. You're living with Ino so she can keep an eye of you. We don't know what can happen in your mind state."

Sakura frowned. "I'm not a child. I don't want to spend the rest of my life being looked after."

"It's not your choice," Tsunade mumbled.

"It should be!" Sakura exclaimed.

"I have nothing else to say on the matter," her mentor said with finality, still not bothering to meet her gaze

Sakura could tell by her mentor's demeanour that there was no arguing. Lowering her head, she mumbled, "I'm sorry I've disappointed you, shishou."

Turning around, she headed for the door.

"Wait," Tsunade stopped her.

Sakura turned back to see the blonde open a draw of her desk and pull out a pair of keys.

Tsunade smiled at her and tossed the keys in her direction. "Your house keys."

Sakura caught the item and her eyes widened. "Thank you."

"If you can find you house," Tsunade added with a smirk.

Sakura looked down at the keys in her hands, stumped. "How do I find it?"

"Feel it out," Tsunade answered helpfully.

Konoha was a big place. How could she find one apartment?

"Can I have a hint?" She smiled sweetly.

Tsunade smirked. "Nope. No asking Ino either."

Sakura didn't think she could find Ino if she tried. Turning around, she headed for the door again, determined to find where she used to live.

* * *

><p>OK, she'd be honest. She had no idea where she was going. There were rows upon rows of houses either side of her, but she had no idea if she even lived on this side of town.<p>

_'Feel it out.'_

How in the world was she supposed to do that?

Maybe she could just try her key with every door, but that would take her months. Walking around slowly, she looked at all of the buildings and she had to admit, Konoha was a very pretty place. Only when she was with Naruto had she taken the time to admire her surroundings.

While it didn't look as magical as when it was lit up at night, there was something strangely comforting about the buildings around her.

It felt like home.

Smiling to herself, she put her keys away and began taking in the details of the houses. Sakura ended up walking into a shopping area, a small marketplace, which was pretty busy. The people were really nice too. She smiled at a group of children playing tag.

She quickly got carried away, only when it began to get dark did she realise how long it had been - and she hadn't found her house. She glanced around the area she was in now. Compared to where Ino lived, this section seemed a little rundown, but the buildings were still pretty.

She'd have to go and find Ino. Surely the blonde would be out of work by now.

As she glanced up, she saw an apartment. She stared for a moment because something seemed very familiar about it... Walking up the steps towards it, she pulled out her keys and stood in front of the door.

There was more than one key on her key ring. Picking what seemed like the main house key, she put it in the lock.

It didn't fit.

Pulling it back out, she sighed and went to turn away. Then she paused, looking at her keys she saw a smaller one that looked like it may fit the lock.

Holding her breath, she put the key into the keyhole.

It fitted.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She turned it and heard a click.

"What are you doing?" a female voice sounded from behind her.

Sakura jumped at the sound of her friend's voice. "Ino!" Sakura frowned and turned around. "You scared me."

The blonde smirked. "Why are you trying to get into Naruto's apartment?"

Her eyes widened. This was Naruto's house? Turning the key and locking the door, she pulled the metal out and studied it. Tsunade gave her the keys to Naruto's apartment? Why?

Frowning, she walked back down the steps to where Ino was stood before showing her the keys.

"Why've you got them?" Ino asked curiously.

"Tsunade gave them to me," Sakura mumbled, "she said I could live in my house if I found it."

Ino smiled. "You made her change her mind?"

"Apparently not, why have I got the wrong keys?" Sakura frowned.

"They're the right keys," Ino answered and began to walk away.

Sakura's eyes widened. "I live with Naruto?"

"Yup."

That couldn't be right.

Glancing back at Naruto's place, she thought about it, it did seem familiar... No, she didn't live with Naruto.

Running after her friend, she called out, "Wait up, Ino!"

The blonde glanced back at her and grinned. "I thought you were sleeping at your house?"

"That's not my house, is it?"

Ino flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Nope! You just have a key to his apartment on your key ring."

"Why?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know. I think you refused to go through his window and scared him every time you broke in through the front door." Ino hummed.

Sakura laughed and shook her head, still following the blonde.

"...Where are we going, Ino?"

"The long way," Ino murmured. "You may as well finish your walk around town, right?"

Sakura smiled, walking in silence alongside her friend, she continued to view the buildings around her. A little further down the road, she paused, the building on the left side of the road felt familiar. In a way, she could see herself choosing somewhere like that to live.

Ino stopped walking and glanced at her friend. "Do you remember something?"

"I don't know," Sakura mumbled.

Walking up to the tall building, she glanced at her keys. These were apartment buildings.

"Do I live here?" she questioned hopefully.

"Maybe," Ino smiled, "go in and find out."

Sakura nodded before walking up to the doors. Opening them, she slowly entered the building and looked around her. There was a flight of stairs on the right hand side of the room. Heading towards them, she began to climb upwards. When she reached the first floor, she opened the door and walked along the corridor.

All the rooms seemed the same. Key in hand, she glanced at each door.

As she kept walking, her hope began to falter. No, she didn't know which room it was, if she lived here at all.

Sighing, she lowered her head.

"Turn over the key," Ino said encouragingly.

Doing so, Sakura found a number engraved on the back of the metal.

Number 15.

She looked up again to see a number 15 on the door in front of her. Using the key she had first tried with Naruto's door, she slipped it into the lock. It clicked and she pushed the door open. Her eyes widened.

This was her home.

"I'll come over tomorrow, Sakura," Ino told her before walking back down the corridor.

Sakura stood there for a moment. When she heard the door downstairs close, she stepped in and shut her own door slowly. Putting the key in the other side of the door, she closed it and turned around.

In front of her was an open living room. A little kitchen area was on the right and there were a few closed doors. It was small, but tidy.

Walking further into the room, she ran her hand along the sofa, heading to the first closed door. Opening it, she saw a double bed. The bedroom.

As she walked towards the bed, she paused. There was a dresser and a mirror. On the dresser was a photograph. Picking it up, she looked at it.

_Her Team 7 photograph._

Sitting on her bed, she studied the picture. Little Naruto and Sasuke didn't look pleased at all, she laughed. Kakashi looked no different and her...she rubbed over her image with her thumb...she looked happy.

Although she had seen memories of this moment, it was all in her mind. It felt like it was just a dream and nothing more... But this was real, this was her past.

She closed her eyes, a few stray tears falling down her cheeks and onto the photograph.

Placing the photo on the spare pillow by her side, she lay down and closed her eyes again, willing herself to go to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

I wanted to thank you for all your reviews, criticism and all. If you're ever confused, feel free to tell me. Perhaps I shouldn't have left the last chapter at a cliff-hanger, because if I had added the hospital scene of this chapter at the end of the last, it may have answered some of your questions. If you don't understand something, that's me not communicating it properly as the writer. Hopefully I cleared up some of the questions from the last chapter?

So feel free to tell me what you don't understand, ask me questions, it makes me think and hopefully I can either answer them within the story or as a reply. The thing about Sakura having no memory is that the other characters don't particularly want to tell her things that might make her think she's in danger, or that anybody is in danger, or something that might upset her etc. Some questions that are coming up, I do plan to answer later on.

Honestly, I didn't know about the protective barrier around Konoha. I started this a few years ago and hadn't thought about it – when I wrote it, I just wanted Sasuke to be there. Looking back, I wouldn't have included him at all. But that's hindsight for you. This chapter starts shaping the real plot; Sakura's journey to find herself and who she is supposed to be.

In the next couple of chapters, at some point, I might go slightly psychological on you. I apologise if that will confuse you, amnesia and the brain can be complicated and I'd like to make Sakura's memory loss quite realistic.

I tried to leave it at a less cliff-hangery spot and a more boring part of the story. Naruto is on a mission, how much trouble can Sakura cause on her own? ;)

Thanks for reading!


	7. A Special Case

**Amnesia**

Chapter 7: A Special Case

* * *

><p>Despite not having to be at work until later, Ino got up at the same time as usual. A part of her was slightly sad that Sakura had moved out – she was going to miss teasing her best friend – but she was nervously excited that with a little bit of a push, Sakura had found her apartment.<p>

Ino had still promised to monitor Sakura's health, and was invested in doing so, but a big part of her just wanted to see Sakura be happy. It wasn't fair to see Sakura, someone who was so independent and work-obsessed, be cooped up in a room or watched like a child.

Ino knew that the girl needed some progress because she was beginning to get agitated with her life schedule. Also, now that Naruto was away, Ino knew she needed to keep Sakura even more occupied or else she would get totally restless. It was fun to spend more time together, but it was also bittersweet. There was a part of Sakura vulnerable and so unsure of herself. It really was like they had gone back ten years in time.

Sakura was amazing, but she didn't know it. It wasn't Ino's style to say that out loud either. She would if it was necessary. She knew when Sakura needed it. However, it meant a lot more to hear from someone who didn't usually give out compliments – and that's what their friendship was. They were all banter and jokes. And at this point, Ino was fairly sure she had already lost a lot of her friend's respect.

That's why Ino wished Tsunade got a bit more hands on with Sakura. Ino knew how hard this was for the Hokage. She also knew just how much work the sannin was putting in to monitoring Sakura's progress behind the scenes – they talked about the situation frequently – but Sakura was completely unaware.

They were all following rules when it came to Sakura's health. They had conversational topics to avoid, places to steer the amnesiac away from, questions to sneak into everyday life. It was somewhat annoying that Ino found it so easy to do. Sakura, while usually easy to tease to a certain extent, would always identify that something was going on.

But Sakura was naive. She was lost. And it was frustrating to all of her friends. Ino was enjoying her time with her best friend, but her smile often fell as soon as they went their separate ways for the day. They had made no progress on the memory front. But they were not going to give up.

Sakura was about to find out that Ino had a key to her apartment. Ino entered Sakura's room in the morning to find that she was still sleeping.

An evil idea crossed her mind.

She snuck towards her friend with the intention of making her jump. As she was about to pounce, she paused, noticing a photo frame on the opposite pillow. Sakura's Team 7 photo...Ino hated seeing it. She hated Sakura staring at it even more.

Straightening and walking around to the other side of the bed, she picked it up. She studied it a little closer and saw there was a small circular mark on the glass of the frame. It looked like a teardrop… Rubbing it away with the bottom of her shirt, Ino glanced at Sakura. "Wake up, Forehead."

* * *

><p>Almost straight away, Sakura opened her eyes, before blinking a few times. "Hey, Ino."<p>

Ino smiled at her best friend. "Good, it usually takes you hours to get up."

"I thought I sensed something," Sakura mumbled and sat up, leaning against her headboard. She spotted the blonde holding her picture but wasn't embarrassed to be caught sleeping with it. She had woken up as somber as when she went to sleep.

Ino handed over the photograph and Sakura placed it on her lap, holding it in both of her hands, she looked at it again. She'd had a dream about her team as children, but…it didn't quite feel real, it was a little bit sketchy and incoherent. It wasn't just the events, mashed up dreams were normal, but the fact that she couldn't even picture her friends' faces properly made her sad.

"You are such a pose in pictures." Ino broke the silence with a teasing smile.

Sakura smiled and threw off her cover to hop out of the bed. Putting the picture back on her dresser, she replied just as jokingly, "I'm sure you're worse."

"I do take good photos," Ino mumbled, tapping her chin in thought.

"Of course you do." Sakura shook her head, unsurprised. "So what are we doing today?"

"Well my shift at the hospital doesn't start until later, so we could head out for some lunch if you wanted?" Ino suggested.

"OK." Sakura smiled. "Just let me get ready."

"Bathroom's the room to your right." Ino signalled.

"Thanks."

It was strange being told where things were in her own home, but hey, at least she had one now. She would need to make an effort to keep her chin up today. A little bit of independence would certainly help with that.

* * *

><p>Sakura walked with Ino to the hospital after they had a relaxing lunch. Her thoughts had been pre-occupied during most of their meal. Hopefully Ino hadn't noticed her lack of active responses – if the medic had realised, she hadn't said anything and was as talkative as ever.<p>

"What time do you finish?" Sakura questioned, breaking the short silence that had spanned between them.

"Seven," Ino answered blankly with small shrug. "What are you going to do until then?"

Sakura thought about it for a moment before she asked, "Do you think I could work at the hospital?"

"I don't know, Forehead, you sort of have to be trained," Ino replied slightly awkwardly, as if she didn't really know what to say.

"But I was trained," Sakura pointed out with a pout.

"If you can't heal, you can't heal." Ino smiled back.

"Can you teach me?" The pinkette looked hopefully at her friend.

"I doubt it," her friend shrugged, "medical chakra is complicated."

"What's chakra?" Sakura frowned.

"Exactly."

"But what is chakra?" Sakura repeated.

"Chakra is the energy we need to perform jutsus, body and spiritual."

Sakura nodded seriously. "And what's medical chakra?"

"Don't even start thinking about that." Ino smiled. "To learn how to use medical chakra you first need perfect chakra control."

Sakura was silent the rest of the way to the hospital, once again lost in her thoughts. She wanted to help people like she used to. Both Tsunade and Naruto had told her that she used to be a very successful medic. Surely she could be so again.

"No," Ino's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" Sakura frowned, concentrating on the conversation again.

Had she missed something? Or spoken aloud?

Ino noticed her confusion. "I can see that look on your face. Whatever you're planning, it's most likely silly."

"It's not silly," Sakura insisted as she followed her friend up the path and in through the hospital doors. "I want to learn to be a medic again. I used to be, why can't I try now?"

"You trained for years," Ino explained, slowing down to look at her seriously. "It's not as simple as just picking it up again. You don't even know the basics."

"I can learn," she argued weakly, knowing nothing of what training to be a medic actually entailed. She was in the mindset that if she did it once, in living memory or not, she could do it again. The need that had built up within her in the recent few weeks was unreal. She was getting restless. She wanted to do something useful.

"Sakura…" Ino sighed. "If you want my advice, don't be a medic. Come and work with me at the florist shop or something. Pick an easy, civilian job… If you wanted, you could get away with not working, you could appeal for benefits after your accident."

"Why would I do that?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't that mean everyone else has to do more hours at the hospital?"

The blonde smiled warmly. "Because you can. I know you have a high opinion of your skills, but you don't make _that_ much of a difference, even if I do seem to be working double the hours."

She shook her head, determined. "I'd like to help people. I'd like to give back to those who helped me while I was unconscious."

"They owed you, believe me," Ino mumbled.

"Still." Sakura frowned.

"You're so stubborn, Forehead." Ino laughed. "Even if you wanted to be a medic, it doesn't mean you'd actually succeed in doing so."

"Who do I go to, to train?" Sakura asked.

"Tsunade has to approve all the new medics, her or Shizune usually oversee the training," the medic informed her.

Ah. Tsunade hadn't seemed keen on letting her do much at all after her accident - although she did give her the opportunity to find her apartment… But Shizune seemed a lovely woman, surely she would help her. Smiling, Sakura decided she would go to Shizune. That was her best bet.

"Good luck with getting either of them to help you," Ino said with a smile. "You will be the least-trained, under-experienced person to ever apply to work at the hospital."

Sakura frowned at her friend, irritated, even if it was the truth.

As if on cue, Shizune came rushing around the corner with a serious expression.

As Sakura was about to say something, the medic signalled to Ino. "Ino, come with me, we're needed in the emergency room."

"Right." Ino nodded smartly before running after the older medic.

Sakura went to follow, but the blonde shouted over her shoulder, "See you later, Sakura! Don't do anything rash while I'm working. My house later for dinner, OK?"

Sakura paused and the medics soon disappeared down the corridor, she lowered her head. "But…"

Ino and Shizune were working hard in the emergency room, Naruto was on a mission, all her friends were doing great things for Konoha and she was doing nothing.

With her mind made up, she headed to the Hokage's office, ignoring Ino's ideas for her future.

* * *

><p>Tsunade smiled at her as she entered the room. "Sakura, find your house?"<p>

"I did actually, thank you," Sakura replied.

The Hokage raised an eyebrow. A look of mild surprise crossed her face. "Really? On your own?"

"Well…Ino came with me," Sakura answered awkwardly, shuffling from foot to foot.

The sannin frowned in reply. "I said she couldn't help you."

"She didn't, she just walked with me," Sakura informed her. "She found me at Naruto's apartment."

Tsunade smirked. "You tried to get into Naruto's place?"

"Yes."

The Hokage laughed.

Sakura crossed her arms, annoyed. "Is that amusing?"

"Yes. Why did you go there?"

"It felt familiar, almost as familiar as my own apartment," Sakura mumbled. "Did you know I lived in an apartment building?"

The blonde nodded.

"That wasn't very fair. All the doors looked the same." Sakura frowned.

Still amused, Tsunade smiled. "I didn't think you'd find it in the first place."

"Well I did, so I'm living there now," she announced, unprepared to be told she couldn't. "Ino woke me up really early this morning."

The Hokage raised an eyebrow. "You're not a morning person. She managed to get you up?"

"I thought I sensed someone come in my room." Sakura shrugged. "I was pretty awake when I opened my eyes."

Tsunade nodded. "Is that all?"

"No." Sakura stood tall, trying to seem proud and presentable. She swallowed her nerves. "I want to be a medic."

The sannin leant back in her chair. Crossing her arms in her lap, she asked, "Why?"

"I want to help people like I used to." Sakura looked at her mentor. When blonde didn't reply, she added, "Everyone else is doing all these good things and I'm doing nothing."

"Why be a medic? It isn't the only way to help people," Tsunade answered, tilting her head to the side to study her.

Why was everyone questioning this decision? What was so bad about her wanting to be a medic, wanting to give back to her community? Surely they would like to have more medics. Unless she really would cause that much more work and hassle for them.

"It's what I'm good at," Sakura mumbled, "or what I used to be good at."

Tsunade hummed. "Do you want to be a medic because you're trying to be who you used to be? Or are you just trying to remember?"

"I wish I could remember, but I can't. I see these images of my team, of my childhood, but…it doesn't feel real." Sakura sighed. "It's as fake as the visions shown to me."

"Sakura, you have a second chance here, to be whatever you want to be-"

"I want to be a medic." Sakura met her mentor's gaze, adamant about her decision.

"Well…" Tsunade began slowly, no enthusiasm for her plan at all. "It's not going to be easy."

"I know, I've been told. Why does nobody want me to be a medic again?" Sakura was both annoyed and confused. She wasn't even prepared for a logical answer to her question.

"Amnesia is usually unique for each individual, but it has its patterns… Your brain damage is certainly a strange case."

Sakura waited for further information, trying not to worry until she heard the whole story.

"Amnesia is split into two kinds," Tsunade explained, "anterograde amnesia, where you can't form new memories, and retrograde amnesia-"

"Where you can't remember the past?" Sakura chipped in.

"Yes, that's what you have," Tsunade confirmed.

"But I remember my early childhood," Sakura frowned. "I've not forgotten everything."

"The amount forgotten usually varies from person to person, as well as if it's temporary or...not."

"How long is temporary amnesia?" she questioned, slightly hopeful.

"It depends on the person." The sannin sighed. "Weeks to years… It can take the number of years you can't remember to remember what memories you can no longer retrieve."

"So ten years? It could take up to ten years for me to get my memory back?" Sakura grumbled. "That sucks."

"Sakura…if it gets to that long, it's unlikely you remember at all."

There was a long silence.

Sakura looked at her mentor, her hope crashing and burning into ashes at her feet.

Tsunade lowered her head, avoiding her gaze. "I was hoping you'd show signs of improvement by now. It's been over a month, the way it's going…it looks like you'll never get your memory back."

Sakura closed her eyes tightly. She didn't want to hear that. She couldn't handle it. Despite no progress, she was grasping at invisible hope, and she knew Naruto and Ino had been doing the same. Her best friends had moments of stretched silence and Sakura watched them when she could get away with it.

It was becoming clear to Sakura that the people around her, as lovely and supportive as they were, they were sad. She caught them when their smiles wavered, to their credit it wasn't often. Yet these amazing people still loved her and helped her and they had lives of their own that they managed to keep going through all of it. Sakura didn't want their hope to be wasted. She couldn't bear to see it wasted.

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes to study her mentor, who had looked back up and was watching her with a solemn expression. "But there's still a chance? It could be up to ten years, or even longer, but I might remember?"

Tsunade gave her a small smile. "Yes, there's a chance."

That's all she needed to hear, that was all she needed to know to rekindle the small fire of hope in the ashes of her disappointment.

Sakura smiled back. "So what's so special about me? Why is my ten years of memory loss strange?"

"It's not so much the time…" The Hokage shook her head. "It's what you can do."

"...What I can do?" Sakura repeated, confused.

"Along with amnesia, it is common for the patient to lose certain skills. For example, you've damaged your procedural memory, which is your memory for skills, knowing how to heal or fight," Tsunade elaborated.

"Right." Sakura nodded.

"Wrong," the Sannin corrected with a smile, "you've not lost that completely."

"I don't remember how to heal or fight…" She trailed off, losing track of the conversation.

"Your ninja skills are still sharp. You sensed Ino this morning? It takes a ninja to hear a ninja. You heard Naruto shuffling outside your hospital door, when he was eavesdropping on you," her mentor explained. "He was barely making noise."

"How'd you know he was eavesdropping on me?" Sakura frowned.

Tsunade cleared her throat, stiffening in her seat. "He told me."

"You're a terrible liar." She smiled, easily spotting the fib. "You were there."

"I'd like to say that was your ninja ability to pick up lies, but you were never very good at that." Tsunade smiled.

"So you are a terrible liar." Sakura laughed.

"I was eavesdropping for medical purposes only," the sannin insisted. "That's not important now… What I'm saying is, your implicit memory is still good, meaning you can do things without conscious recollection." Tsunade studied her desk before picking up a small, but heavy notebook, launching it at her apprentice, she shouted, "Think fast!"

Sakura's eyes widened as the book approached her face. She took a step backwards, but was unable to dodge. The book hit her on the head and she was knocked to the floor, dramatically landing in a startled heap. "Oww…" she whined, rubbing her forehead from where she lay.

The Hokage peered over the desk at her apprentice. Sakura sat up and continued to rub her injured head and Tsunade tried to hide her smirk. "Sorry…I thought your reflexes would kick in and you'd dodge or catch it."

Sakura grumbled to herself. Book in hand, she pulled herself to her feet, stepping forwards until she reached the desk, she handed over the object that had struck her, still frowning at her mentor.

"If your implicit memory is good, you should still remember all of your ninja skills, but you can't heal and you can't fight," Tsunade explained, "not consciously."

"I healed Naruto," Sakura pointed out.

"Yes, you healed yourself in your sleep, you healed Naruto and you punched Sasuke by channelling chakra." The Hokage nodded.

"So that's good?" Sakura questioned hopefully.

"It's no good if you can't do it consciously." Tsunade shrugged. "The point is that you shouldn't be able to do those things, but you can. While it's not going to help you remember, it might save you one day if you're ever injured or something."

Sakura narrowed her eyes in thought. "Why does that mean I can't be a medic?"

"You don't remember healing yourself, you don't know how you punched Sasuke, you remember nothing of healing Naruto." The sannin sighed. "You remember less when you do these things… We're worried that you can't consciously learn these skills again, that it might only do more damage to you… A writer can get brain damage and forget how to read, an artist can lose their perception of colour. You're a ninja. When patients get brain damage, it often affects the biggest part of their lives and their best skills… You had perfect chakra control, my theory is, that you will never be able to physically control chakra again."

Sakura swallowed as she took in the information, not liking it one bit. "...But I did," she argued weakly.

"You were not aware. You were put in a very stressful situation which made you have to. I fear without that stress that you can't do it," Tsunade explained. "I'm sorry, that is why we don't want you to be a ninja or a medic again. If creating that stress is the only way you can perform, it might have further negative effects on your brain. You might end up developing a mental disease."

"What if your theory is wrong?" Sakura asked. "What if I can learn to be a medic again?"

"I'm not taking that risk."

"But I want to." Sakura frowned. "I'd rather die trying to be something better, than to not try and be half of what I could be."

Tsunade didn't reply.

"You said I'm a special case, that amnesia is unique to the individual. I might be able to get my procedural memories back if we try," Sakura stressed, increasingly desperate.

"We?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

Sakura's eyes widened, before she lowered her head. "You're a really good teacher…I guess I hoped you'd teach me again."

"You always had a keenness to learn." Tsunade smiled. "Before I agree to anything, tell me, Sakura, when you healed Naruto, did the blood not bother you?"

Sakura shook her head. She hadn't even thought about that at the time. All she knew was that Naruto was badly injured, dying right in front of her.

"While your just above average medic could have healed that injury, it would have been fatal if it was left unattended to… If you had no knowledge of your medical past, you'd think a messy wound like that would bother you."

"I guess I was more worried about Naruto." Sakura shrugged, remembering how distressed she had been, thinking that she would be the reason that her friend did not survive.

"So large amounts of blood didn't affect you?" The Hokage hummed.

"If I say yes, will you train me?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"I'll tell you what," Tsunade smiled back, "if you can learn to control basic chakra, I will teach you to use medical chakra again."

"But you said you don't think I can learn to use chakra." Sakura frowned.

"If you can't, you can't be a medic," the Hokage stated flatly.

Sakura nodded, determined, she replied, "Well I will."

"Then good luck."

Sakura turned to leave, but then paused and asked, "How do I learn to control chakra?"

"I'm not helping you. That's not part of the deal." The sannin smirked.

"That's not fair, just point me in the right direction," Sakura pleaded.

"Maybe you should start at your bookshelf," Tsunade suggested. "Or ask the medics around the hospital, you helped a lot of the younger ones when they first started, perhaps they'll be prepared to teach you back."

Sakura nodded. That was one question out of the way, and the second she had just spurred on an idea. "When's Naruto home?"

"In a few days." Tsunade smirked. "Why? Are you going to get him to teach you?"

"Why not? I'm sure he would." Sakura frowned over her shoulder.

Tsunade grinned. "Oh I'm sure he would try and help you, but he hates the learning process himself. Good luck with that."

Sakura left the room. Ino had already dismissed the idea of helping her learn to be a medic again, but Naruto seemed like a skilled ninja, surely he'd be able to help her with something as basic as chakra control. Perhaps she'd have to try and learn as much as she could before he returned to Konoha.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

I apologise to anybody that I lost during that dialogue. This story is inspired by real Psychology. Amnesia was a topic we covered in college (the last two years of high school). Therefore, with this story, I'm trying to keep it realistic. Sakura's case is a mixture of fact and fiction, perhaps not too farfetched, we don't know much about the brain and how damage can affect each individual. I've finished college now and typically, Disorders of Memory never came up in my exam.

This chapter was a struggle to write. The chapter before was the point at which I didn't have any more pre-written chapters to upload, and it had a gap of months between writing most of chapter five and this chapter. This chapter was more me getting back into writing it, which may be another reason for its lameness, it was also very conversation-heavy (totally one of my weak points). Even rewriting this, I struggled adding extra details. Sakura is confused and she won't have much to say about complicated terms she's never heard of before. Saying that, on another rewrite run, I added that bit of Ino's thoughts at the beginning and it really shaped the chapter in a new way for me.

This was the first time I sat down and wrote just a single chapter, noting where to end it. I also kept an eye on the word count as I went along – if you write yourself, I recommend trying to resist doing that, as tempting as it is. This un-edited chapter, shorter than usual, took me about 4 hours to write.

Thanks for reading :).


	8. Florists and Medics

**Amnesia**

Chapter 8: Florists and Medics

* * *

><p>Sakura approached her oak bookshelf. It was small but functional and packed full with all sorts of books, none of which stood out to her. Every book seemed plain, black, brown or grey. Most of them were very thick and dare she say boring and daunting to even look at. She must have been interested in this stuff, if she had so many large books.<p>

Picking out the first, she studied the cover which read '_Agnosia Theories and Treatments'_. She had no idea what that was, so she placed it neatly back in the bookshelf. The next one she pulled out simply said _'Alcohol'_. Interest peaked, she turned over the cover to see a note written on the inside page.

Sakura smiled as she read it. _"Dear Sakura, Happy 18th Birthday! Feel free to explain to your mentor all the negative effects alcohol is having on her internal systems when you catch her drinking again. Much Love, Shizune."_

Now assuming the books were alphabetised, Sakura put back her Alcohol book and moved down to the next row of books, to search some more. When she spotted _'Chakra Pathway System_', she grinned and took out the book. Moving to her living area, she sat down on the sofa and opened the book.

Time to get reading.

* * *

><p>When Sakura reached the restaurant, where she was meeting Ino for lunch, the blonde was already there talking to a young male waiter. She didn't know if this guy was her friend, or Ino's friend, or a random stranger, but the way Ino was laughing suggested she knew who he was. Sakura wasn't really bothered if she was supposed to know him or not, she was in a good mood, and excited to share the new knowledge she had learnt.<p>

"Hey, Ino!" she exclaimed happily and sat down opposite her friend.

Ino watched as the pink-haired medic placed several heavy books down on the table in front of her. "...Hey, Sakura, what do you have there?" she questioned, although didn't sound as if she wanted a reply.

"Books," Sakura answered with enthusiasm, "I've been reading everything on my bookshelf. I started at C and read all the chakra related material, then all the Medical Chakra books, then I went back to A, some of this stuff is really interesting."

Ino nodded slowly, giving a really forced smile, signalling to the waiter by tilting her head.

"Oh sorry." Sakura smiled before looking at the young man. "Do I know you?"

"No you don't, Forehead, he's a waiter here," Ino replied for him.

"I see, nice to meet you!" Sakura greeted him politely.

The young waiter nodded and smiled in reply, although Sakura wasn't sure if his smile was that genuine. He seemed to have gone a bit rigid and awkward since she sat down.

Ino sighed in defeat, simply stating, "We'll have the usual."

When the man disappeared, Sakura studied her seemingly annoyed friend and asked, "Did I interrupt something between you?"

"Actually, I was trying to hook him up with you." The blonde shrugged nonchalantly.

Sakura laughed, amused by her friend's terrible plan, and even more amused by the fact that she had been fairly successful in making it fail, without even trying. Who knew extremely heavy textbooks scared off guys? Or maybe it was her profound interest in an apparently not that interesting topic. Sakura wasn't sure why Ino was trying to get her a date (without her permission or even asking) anyway.

"Why?" she questioned.

"A civilian boyfriend, to go with your new civilian life," Ino informed her with a cheery smile.

Sakura frowned, her happy mood dwindling a little, this was the opposite of what she wanted to discuss. "You know I'm trying to be a medic again, Ino."

"I know I know. You could still get a boyfriend though."

"I don't want a boyfriend."

Ino smirked. "Not even Naruto?"

Finding new interest in her books, Sakura opened the one on the top of the pile and hummed to herself.

Ino watched her, amused, before speaking, "You know, Naruto-"

"Did you know there's a Medical Joke Book?" Sakura interrupted.

Ino rolled her eyes, groaning. "Yes I did. You loved that thing when you first got it."

"It's great, isn't it?" Sakura smiled to herself.

"No." Ino frowned. "Tsunade and I both agree that there is nothing more cringe-worthy than watching you and Shizune-san laugh over that book."

"Shizune got it me?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. "She gets me lots of books."

"She's given you a lot of medical textbooks, yes, too many in my opinion."

"Why's that?" Sakura asked.

"When you get a new one, all you talk about is all these complex medical theories, you sit at home and read the whole thing... You're such a nerd." Ino shook her head.

"But you're a medic too, Ino, I thought you'd be interested in these things," Sakura said, already disappointed with her friend's responses.

There goes her plan of discussing ninja and medical techniques with her fellow medic. She certainly didn't come here to talk about _boyfriends_, or Naruto, or both of those topics together. For some reason, that made her feel really awkward, when she thought about it – not a bad awkward, just an awkward awkward.

"Not as much as you," Ino mumbled. "My social life comes first."

Sakura gave her friend a disapproving look before continuing reading.

Ino frowned at the large medical textbook occupying the table space and sighed. "Why are you reading about cancer?"

"Because-" Sakura took a deep breath.

Ino mentally switched off as her friend began to speak, occasionally nodding or humming, pretending to be interested. She used to do it all the time when she didn't find what the pink-haired medic was saying particularly interesting. Sakura used to find out and hit her, but now she didn't have her monster strength, Ino was even less bothered about annoying her.

Sakura continued on her medical, semi-rant, "And it amazes me after all this research, that a cure has yet to be found, I-"

Ino laughed very loudly.

Sakura paused, confused.

The male waiter had returned, and as he placed their food down on the table, Ino gave her a big smile. "You're so funny, Forehead."

Sakura frowned. "I didn't think it was very-"

Ino then smiled at the waiter and repeated, "She's so funny."

"Enjoy your meals." The man smiled politely back, but then briskly walked away from their table.

"You've lost that one," Ino grumbled, picking up her fork, she prodded at her salad.

"I've read all about anorexia," Sakura began, looking at her friend's lunch. "And with what you eat, or how little you eat, I'm surprised you're not heading that way."

"So you're calling me thin?" Ino grinned. "Thanks, Forehead."

"It's not a good thing," Sakura warned seriously, not amused by her friend's happiness at her situation.

When Sakura got medical, she was often like an over-protective mother, but it always pushed Ino to want to do the opposite of what the pinkette said. It was funny to see her friend over-react, and sometimes it was even worth it after the repercussions of doing what she was told not to.

"I'm letting you eat that burger because I hope you get fat." Ino grinned. "Then I can laugh at you."

"You should try it, it's a vegetable one, and it's actually very good for you," Sakura insisted.

"Whatever," Ino mumbled.

"Your loss." Sakura smiled and shrugged.

There was a small silence as they ate, Sakura still reading her book, Ino half-heartedly eating her own meal.

"I don't want you to talk to me about that now, Sakura," Ino signalled to the large book, fork in hand. "My shift starts after this and I didn't intend to start working any earlier."

Sakura bookmarked her page and closed it, looking at her friend, she asked, "What did you want to talk about then?"

"Naruto." The blonde's smile widened.

Sakura frowned. "Why?"

"Because you avoid the topic every time I bring it up." Ino laughed. "So as your best friend, I'm entitled to push more until you talk to me about it."

"Fine..." Sakura grumbled. "That ramen he got me was also a lot better than a salad, but it isn't as good for you as a veggie burger."

Ino was amused by her friend's attempt to divert the conversation from where the real interest was. "I don't want to talk to you about the ramen he got you."

"Well then what about him?" Sakura questioned, less than enthusiastic.

"Anything happened since you kissed him?" Ino asked.

"No."

"Why not?" The blonde pouted, frowning in disappointment.

Sakura took a bite of her burger and shrugged, looking anywhere but at the interrogating medic.

"Do you want something to happen?" Ino pushed.

Sakura thought about it, swallowing her food, she answered, "I'm focussing on my work right now; I need to learn this stuff."

"You've not changed one bit." Ino shook her head. "Your feelings haven't changed either. You just put everything else on a higher priority list, so you can ignore it."

"Naruto is important, but I really want to be a medic again," Sakura insisted.

"For yourself?"

"And for others."

"Put yourself first for once, Sakura, you don't need to prove anything to us, you've already done enough," Ino grumbled.

"Other people are still helping Konoha, you are helping, you are a medic," Sakura pointed out.

"It's a job and there's plenty of other ways to help out Konoha, you don't have to be a ninja or a medic, you could be a florist," Ino suggested.

Sakura laughed. "A florist?"

"Yeah, work in my flower shop, that's just as important to the people of Konoha." Ino smiled.

"Of course," Sakura spoke sarcastically.

Ino frowned, sounding offended, she replied, "Do you know how many relationships I help start and improve? Florists are important to the social and romantic aspects of this place!"

"I'll stick to trying to be a ninja." Sakura smiled.

Romance just didn't seem like her thing, but these books, her past job and life, really sparked her interest.

"Don't tell me you'd prefer a kunai as a gift over a nice bouquet of flowers," Ino grumbled. "Then again, I wouldn't be surprised."

"It would be a practical gift." Sakura shrugged.

"Workaholic," Ino accused her grumpily.

"Speaking of work, can you help me?"

"No," Ino replied flatly.

"Come on, Ino!" Sakura pleaded. "You know I've been having difficulties with chakra. I understand it, I just can't do it."

"What happened to getting Naruto to help you?" the blonde asked, trying to push the conversation back into the fun zone.

"I will as soon as he's back, but people keep making fun of me when I tell them I'm going to ask him for help." Sakura frowned. "Do you know why?"

"No, I think it's a great idea," Ino answered, her lips curving upwards into a sly smile.

Sakura was silent for a moment, analysing her friend's smile before asking, "Not even a short lesson?"

Ino laughed. "I'll leave that for Naruto to attempt, but if you ever want my help learning floristry, just ask."

"You know I was never any good at flower arranging, Ino," Sakura mumbled.

"You could learn," Ino shrugged.

Sakura hummed dismissively.

There was another silence that stretched out between them before Ino added, "Was it strange? Getting to know me a second time?"

Sakura thought about it before concluding, "I remember you used to be a lot nicer."

Ino smiled. "We went through a lot, sometimes, I wish I could forget it too."

"Well maybe we can swap memories," Sakura suggested. "I was reading a book on brain transplants and-"

Ino picked up a lettuce leaf and threw it at her friend. "Don't care."

Sakura frowned.

"Naruto should be back later today. You can tell him all about your relearned medical knowledge," Ino told her.

Sakura's eyes widened. "I wouldn't expect him to like that sort of stuff."

"Are you kidding? He loves it!" Ino grinned. "You just need to spend more time with him, get to know him, go on a couple of dates."

Sakura's frown deepened and she threw the lettuce leaf back at her teasing friend. She'd see if all the blonde was saying was true later.

* * *

><p>Sakura was sat under a tall tree at the training grounds, reading her book in the shade, when she looked up to see Naruto walking towards her. Grinning, she pushed herself up and ran towards him. As she reached him, she pulled him into a hug. "Naruto!"<p>

Naruto stood there for a moment, awkwardly frozen on the spot, before he hugged her back and greeted her happily, "Hey, Sakura-chan!"

Pulling back, she gave him a funny look. "What?"

"Nothing." He grinned.

"Do I not usually hug you?" she asked, not knowing what else it could be that she did to make him act strangely.

"No," a voice sounded behind them.

Sakura pulled away completely to see two males walking towards them. She studied them for a moment. "I know you two right? I saw you in the magic visions."

"So you are brain damaged." The male with black hair, who had spoken previously, smiled strangely at her.

"Uhh…" Sakura frowned, not knowing what to say.

"Ignore him, Sakura-chan!" Naruto stepped in front of her. "What gives, Sai?"

"Yes, Sai…" Sakura mumbled. She looked back at the other man. "And Captain Yamato?"

Yamato smiled at her, in a much more genuine manner than Sai. "That's right, Sakura."

"I win," Sakura announced proudly, glad that she remembered their names. "What are you two doing here? Why have I not seen you before now?"

"We just got back from a mission with Naruto," Yamato explained smartly. "Tsunade had thought it would be better if Sai didn't talk to you for a while after…your incident."

"I wonder why," Naruto mumbled.

She looked back at Sai and he just continued to smile at her.

"Oh," Sakura said slowly. "OK… Hey, can one of you teach me to control chakra?"

She had surely trained a lot with all three of these males. Sai and Yamato looked older than she and Naruto were, but she would be happy if any of them offered to help teach her. If all three of them chipped in with a lesson or two, she'd have a much better chance of re-learning her ninja skills. She had begun to get excited starting her journey in relearning all her old skills.

"Why?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Tsunade said if I can use normal chakra, she'll teach me to be a medic again!" Sakura exclaimed happily, before lowering her head. "But I've had no luck with chakra so far."

"Tsunade said this?" Yamato raised an eyebrow.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. Can you help me?"

"I will have to discuss it with the Hokage first." The brown-haired man smiled. "The last I heard, we were to ensure your safety by not allowing you to try and use any ninja techniques."

Sakura continued to stare at the floor, frowning slightly in confusion. "She did tell me I could…"

"I'll help you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto announced with a grin.

Sakura smiled at him, she knew he'd help her. "Thanks, Naruto, I was going to ask you anyway."

When she turned to look back at Sai and Yamato, she saw the team leader with a very frightening look across his face. He was staring at Naruto in a way that completely crept her out.

"Is this some kind of jutsu?" she whispered to Naruto, tempted to hide behind him.

Naruto cleared his throat, he looked at Yamato awkwardly, speaking through his teeth, "Captain Yamato, you're freaking Sakura-chan out."

Straightening, Yamato smiled again. "We should report to the Hokage, come on, Naruto."

"But I want to stay with Sakura-chan." Naruto pouted.

"You can return after you've spoken to Tsunade," Yamato ordered.

"But…" Naruto pointed to her. "The rules were that one of us has to be with Sakura-chan at all times."

"Really?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I've been on my own the past couple of days."

Yamato face-palmed, before replying, "Then it seems the rules have changed. I shall go and get an update."

"I'll stay here." Naruto grinned.

"So will I," Sai announced.

Sighing, Yamato turned and walked away. Sakura watched him go – he didn't seem very happy. From what she'd seen in the memories shown to her, he seemed like a kind man, but she'd seen nothing of the scary look he produced just moments ago. He wasn't in the memories Sasuke showed her and he was only in happy memories that Kakashi showed her (they were all happy though, a stark contrast to those displayed to her by the Uchiha).

She wondered if she had been as needy at an older age, like she had been in Sasuke's memories, but Kakashi just hadn't showed her that side to her personality. Similarly, she assumed she must have had some happy memories with her ex-teammate. Even in what he showed her, he had certainly changed. Surely Sasuke had changed a lot since he left, because she couldn't see herself following around someone so corrupt.

Also, the fact that Captain Yamato hadn't been in Sasuke's memories at all, made her assume that the man was a newer friend, a later team leader. Perhaps he stood in for Kakashi sometimes, because she couldn't recall any memories presented to her where she was on a mission with both men. It wasn't like she could be shown everything she had gone through with these guys though, even all the happy times.

"Shouldn't you guys do what he said?" Sakura frowned. "Isn't he our team captain?"

Naruto shrugged, unbothered.

"I wanted to talk to you, Sakura," Sai told her with a smile.

"Okay…what about?" she asked awkwardly, not sure how to feel about this guy yet.

He was another teammate, right? He should be a good friend of hers.

"I'm interested in what you think, now that you're brain damaged," he explained.

Sakura's fist tightened, annoyed by the way he spoke to her. "I would appreciate it if you do not call me brain damaged."

"This is why Tsunade ordered you to not talk to her," Naruto said with a sigh.

"It seems you are still easily angered," Sai replied blankly.

"I'm not easily angered," Sakura shot back, angry.

"Your friends tend to know how to avoid making you mad," Sai informed her, before adding, "apart from Naruto."

"Naruto's not angered me."

"Is this because you like him?" Sai questioned.

Sakura's eyes widened at the sudden question. She expected that off Ino, but even then she didn't think her best friend would be so abrupt – she'd at least sneakily ease them into the conversation.

Naruto stepped forward, in front of her, in a defensive manner. "Leave her alone, Sai! What gives? Asking her stuff like that?"

"Sakura is usually the only one who explains things to me," he answered blankly.

"That's because you ask the most awkward questions ever," Naruto growled.

"If I usually answer your questions… I guess I can try." Sakura shuffled, she did want to be like her old self, but..."But, uhh, preferably none about Naruto OK?" she added.

Sai smiled. "OK, I already have my answer anyway."

Sakura avoided eye contact with both of the males, feeling uncomfortable with this whole conversation, even more so than when Ino pushed her for answers regarding those kind of topics – she didn't want to discuss romance with two males, especially Naruto. She didn't want to discuss romance with anyone, in general.

"What are your feelings towards Sasuke?" Sai asked.

"Sai…" Naruto warned, his fist tightening.

"I hate him," Sakura answered simply.

Naruto's eyes widened and he looked at her. "What?"

"He nearly killed you." Sakura looked the blond in the eyes, not understanding why he seemed so surprised (and even upset) at her straight answer. "I have never been so scared in my life."

Naruto lowered his head. "You don't hate him, Sakura-chan, he was our teammate, you…"

"Thought you loved him," Sai added.

Sakura shook her head, denying it. "How can I have loved him? After all that he did? He tried to kill me. He nearly killed Naruto. He left us."

"Because he was our friend," Naruto mumbled, meeting her gaze steadily. "He still is. There is still good in him, I know it, and you do too, you do like him."

Sakura saw how serious he was. He was pained at her response. Nodding slowly, she agreed quietly, "OK, Naruto."

Sai looked between them, before asking, "What is your opinion of Ino?"

Now that question was easier to handle. Sakura smiled, glad for the topic change. "Ino's my best friend, but at the same time, she's a really terrible friend."

Sai frowned. "I have never understood your relationship with Ino."

"Do you now?"

"No."

Sakura laughed. "Why not?"

"He has the worst social skills ever," Naruto told her with a frown.

"Why?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"I do not understand the concept of emotion," Sai explained simply.

"You've got to have some emotion," Sakura answered, confused, before taking into account his expression. "But that is the most unconvincing smile I have ever seen."

Naruto burst out laughing. "It is, isn't it?"

Sai frowned, looking slightly perplexed, before turning his back on them. "I shall report to the Hokage now."

"Wait, Sai," Sakura stopped him.

Turning back around, he replied, "Yes?"

"You're an artist, right?" She questioned, trying to piece together all the information she had on him, since it was the first time he re-met her.

He nodded.

"Can you teach me how to draw?" she pleaded.

"I have tried before," Sai smiled, "you are a terrible artist."

Sakura pouted.

"You're just a terrible teacher, Sai!" Naruto raised his voice and defended her.

"You are worse." Sai smiled.

Naruto stepped forward and went to shout something back at his teammate, but Sakura quickly stood in-between them. Smiling awkwardly, she placed a hand on both of their chests. "Hey, I'm sure you're both good teachers."

"No," they spoke simultaneously.

She grinned. "Well, you can teach me how to control chakra Naruto. Sai, you can teach me to draw, then I'll be the judge of that."

"OK then," Sai nodded. "If I can ask you some more questions?"

"All right…" Sakura begrudgingly agreed, not too keen on that idea, but she wanted to get to know her (admittedly strange) friend better. He annoyed her at first. Then his honest confusion, about everything social, intrigued her further.

"Go away, Sai." Naruto frowned.

Sai smiled, before heading in the opposite direction from them. "Good luck with Naruto's teaching, Sakura."

Sakura watched him go. "Why does everyone keep saying good luck to me about trying to learn from you?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "No idea… I'm sorry about Sai, he tends to aggravate us."

Sakura laughed. "He seems nice, but a little confused and inappropriate… Why doesn't he understand emotion?"

Naruto shrugged.

There was a small silence.

"And what are these rules concerning me?" She frowned.

She hadn't heard anything concerning rules about her. Having one person with her at all times? Not letting her use chakra or ninja techniques? Why had these secret orders been given to her friends? How many had been given?

"Umm… They were put in place to protect you, an order by Tsunade." Naruto smiled.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Rule Number One:" Naruto recited. "Don't tell Sakura about these rules."

Sakura stared at him.

"Oh," Naruto mumbled to himself. "Whoops."

She laughed. "You're such an idiot."

He pouted at her. He was a little slow, bless him.

She grinned. "What was the second rule?"

"I can't tell you." His pout increased.

"Pretty please?" she pleaded, looking at him with big eyes, her lips mirroring his pout.

"I'm just an idiot." He looked at the ground and sniffed. "Why would I know the rules?"

"Aww, Naruto," Sakura place a hand on his shoulder. "You're not an idiot... I think."

"You think?" Naruto raised his head to look at her.

"Well everyone seems to think you can't teach me about chakra." She shrugged.

Naruto frowned. "Well I'm going to prove them wrong! And prove I'm not an idiot!"

"Great," Sakura grinned. "Let's get started."

* * *

><p>"Tsunade-sama." Yamato bowed respectfully.<p>

The Hokage raised an eyebrow. "Where's your team?"

"With Sakura. The wood user shook his head. "You might have to wait a while for Naruto's debrief, he wanted to stay with her."

"Of course he did." Tsunade smiled and shook her head.

"Have the rules changed?" Yamato frowned. "Sakura's trying to teach herself to use chakra."

"I know."

"You told us specifically that we shouldn't let that happen."

Tsunade nodded.

"But?" Yamato raised an eyebrow.

Tsunade smiled to herself. "But Sakura is Sakura. She wouldn't listen to me if I told her not to... Maybe she can do it."

"Is it safe?"

Tsunade frowned. "If her trying to learn jutsus compromises her safety than we will not allow it, but Sakura's still in there somewhere and I am willing to let her try."

Yamato smiled. "And the other rules?"

"The other rules concerning Sakura are still in place, although she has moved back into her old apartment," the Hokage informed him.

"She said she's been on her own recently," Yamato said, frowning slightly.

Tsunade smirked. "She's never been alone."

"Have you told her she's being watched?"

"It's for her own safety." Tsunade shrugged.

Yamato shook his head. "She wouldn't be happy."

"I know. I'm interested in seeing her reaction if she finds out... I'd like to see her get angry at me."

Yamato laughed. "You're the only one who likes to see her get angry."

Tsunade grinned. "I miss it, it's entertaining. If I can't teach her medical jutsu again, I'll work on the short temper."

"Great." Yamato shook his head. "But we _can_ help her with chakra?"

"You can try."

"You still don't think she can learn to use chakra again?"

"The chances are extremely thin." Tsunade shrugged. "Then again, it's Sakura, maybe she'll do it."

Yamato smiled. "She's certainly changed your attitude since we last spoke."

Tsunade smiled back. "We talked. As much as she makes me want to try and help her out, it's all down to her subconscious effort to remember what she used to know."

"So you _do_ think she can do it?"

The Hokage looked down at the book she had hit her apprentice over the head with, before replying quietly, "I hope so."

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

Hello!

I was soon to turn 18 when I wrote the start of this, which is probably where the 18th alcohol book message came from at the start of the story. Here in the UK, you can drink at 18.

I'm sorry if this chapter sucked. Hardly anything was pre-planned. I wrote the first sentence and it went from there, a sentence at a time, for all of this. The Naruto/Sakura/Sai part in the middle was written first and was the only thing planned, designed to set up what will happen in the next chapter.

Some people wanted Sai and Yamato, others didn't, so I gave them a short part to compensate. One thing I have noticed, is that you reviewers seem to just want Sakura to remember – I understand and empathise with that. However, this story is kind of how Sakura is without these memories and the journey she takes to try and get them back and about how her relationships with her old friends (mainly Naruto) re-develop.

I didn't know what to call this chapter, I was so rusty – then again, I often don't know what to call a chapter, rusty or not.

Thanks for reading.


	9. Training Time

**Amnesia**

Chapter 9: Training Time

* * *

><p>"OK!" Naruto clapped his hands together and stood tall, addressing her proudly. "Sakura-chan! My wonderful student, tell me all you know about chakra! Go!"<p>

Sakura giggled before turning serious and reciting, "Chakra is energy that a ninja needs to use to utilise a technique. That energy comes from the body energy that is collected from every cell in the body and from the spirit energy that comes from training and experience. In other words, techniques come from these two energies that are squeezed out of the body and moulded together. This process is known as moulding the chakra, and with this chakra, one is able to execute a technique by forming a seal. Medical chakra is-"

"Wo wo wo, slow down!" Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "You've lost me."

Sakura paused and raised an eyebrow at her teacher. Lost him already? She'd barely touched on the basics. He had told her before that he didn't understand medical chakra, though. She'd give him the benefit of the doubt. Others had found the thought of him teaching her amusing, but at least he was willing to teach. Being willing to try put him leaps and bounds above all her other potential (but reluctant) teachers.

"I thought you didn't know anything." Naruto pouted, looking truly letdown. "I was about to impress you with my knowledge."

The knowledge was the bit she found easy; it was the _doing_ that she found difficult, impossible even. She could tell him all she knew, drone on about it for hours, or she could play the part of eager apprentice and make him feel better about himself (and hopefully learn something too).

Sakura smiled apologetically. "I've been trying to learn all I can whilst you were away, sorry."

Naruto gazed back at her, his smile almost dreamy. "Don't apologise. You're amazing for learning that in such a short space of time. It took me years and I still don't fully understand it."

She smiled back at him. She didn't think she would ever get used to the amount of compliments he paid her effortlessly, all the time. He didn't even seem to realise how much he praised her – or the amount of time he spent smiling at her. She'd smile about it later when he wasn't there, it was always a comforting thought, but right now she wanted to be all about business.

He continued to smile.

Sakura cleared her throat and shuffled awkwardly under his affectionate gaze. "Naruto?"

"Mmhmm?" He grinned, tilting his head at her.

"What now?" she questioned, returning to her serious mode.

Pulling himself out of thought, he pointed to the tree. "We climb a tree!"

Sakura was about to agree with all the people that had laughed, when she told them Naruto would teach her to use chakra, until he added: "With no hands, we'll climb it vertically with chakra only."

She nodded slowly, not sure where he was going with this, watching him with interest.

Naruto walked up to the tree and placed a foot on the trunk, instructing her as he went along. "Gather your chakra at the bottom of your feet and make it attach to the tree trunk."

She watched as he walked up the log vertically, then upside down across a branch above her head. "The main purpose of this training is to accumulate the right amount of moulded chakra in the right location."

Her eyes widened. While it wasn't as fast-paced or as crazy as some of the fighting she'd seen her ninja friends get involved with, it was strange to think of herself dangling in trees like that. Having no current chakra controlling skill, it seemed quite complicated. She'd love to be able to do that though – just proving she could do it to Tsunade would guarantee her medical training.

Dropping down and swivelling in mid air to land on his feet, Naruto smiled. "Your turn."

Determined to try her best, she nodded. "Right."

Sakura walked up to the tree he had climbed, she placed the sole of her shoe against the wooden trunk, as comfortably high up the tree as possible. She looked back at her friend and Naruto nodded encouragingly. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, mould chakra, climb tree... Here goes nothing. Sakura lifted her other foot and placed it above the first.

Could she do it?

_No_.

Gravity took over and she fell back down into two strong arms. She pouted and looked at the male who had caught her bridal style.

"Good try, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said, not at all discouraged by her failure. "You did better than me on my first go."

"Really?" she asked in disbelief.

He placed her on her feet and nodded. "Yeah! I ran at the tree and fell straight back down."

"A run up huh?" She looked at the tree, studying it, in thought. "Think I could do it with a run up?"

Naruto shrugged. "You could try."

"Does it help though?" she questioned.

"I always ran at it." He grinned.

With that knowledge, she turned away from him and walked several metres, then looked back. "Does it help the further you are away?"

"Sure!"

She stepped back several more feet. "Here?"

"Maybe a little more!" he shouted.

Raising an eyebrow, she continued to step backwards until he held up his hand to signal for her to stop. She narrowed her eyes at her target and bobbed back and forth on her feet, ready for action.

"Go!" Naruto grinned and pointed his finger in the air, as if starting a race.

Sakura broke into a run, going as fast as she could. When she reached the tree, she jumped at it, hitting it foot first before bouncing back slightly. Quickly, she put her other foot on the bark, but similarly to the first time, slipped and fell back down.

Naruto caught her again.

Sakura frowned. "I got no further than the first time."

Naruto giggled.

"Is that funny?" Her frown increased.

"No, Sakura-chan, it's just I'm really enjoying this teaching thing, telling you what to do and all." He smiled and shrugged.

She looked at him. "...Did I really need that much of a run up?"

Putting her back down to the ground, he mumbled, "I always took a long run up."

"I didn't need to though did I?"

"No."

She frowned.

"Let's try again!" Naruto grinned at her. "With as much as a run up as you'd like."

Sakura nodded and walked a few steps away, before turning around and running at the tree again, still determined to get a result. She was not going to let a _tree_ beat her, especially when so much depended on her succeeding.

* * *

><p>For the, what must be a billionth time, she fell down. Naruto caught her once more and placed her on her feet, still as encouraging and happy as when they started – she on the other hand, was annoyed with her lack of progress.<p>

She sighed. "I can't do it. The first time I tried, I went up about four feet, I'm still going up about four feet!"

Naruto stroked his chin in thought.

"Any tips?" she asked, increasingly desperate.

Naruto smiled and recited, "First, chakra uses your spirit energy, so don't get tense or too eager. Relax, concentrate on your energy and collect a constant amount of chakra at the bottom of your feet."

That was useful. At the start she had been nothing but eager and the more she tried, the more frustrated she had gotten with herself. She took a deep breath before letting it out slowly, calming herself.

She nodded before smiling. "OK. You're quite knowledgeable really, aren't you?"

Her friend grinned. "I only remembered that because you told me, Sakura-chan."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

He nodded. "When I was having trouble with this, I asked you for some tips and you really helped me out, I memorised it word for word. You're a great teacher, Sakura-chan."

Sakura smiled. "Thanks, you too... How long ago did we do this training activity then?"

"Six years?" Naruto said with a shrug.

Her eyes widened again, surprised it had been so long ago and yet he still remembered what she said perfectly. "That's a long time. You still remember what I said?"

He smiled. "I always remember everything you say, and everything you do for me."

Sakura smiled back at him... That was really sweet. She couldn't have had more support behind her than right now. But when she looked back at the tree, she sighed again.

"You can do it! I believe in you!" Naruto spurred her on.

Taking it slow, she tried one more time, but with the same results.

When Naruto caught her she looked up at him. "What now?"

"How about a break?" he suggested, still holding her in his arms. "We've been at it for hours."

She nodded and then asked, "Hey, Naruto?"

"Yes?"

"Why do you catch me every time I fall?"

His smile widened. "I'll never let you fall. I don't want to see you get hurt."

She looked at the ground down by her side. "It's not very far."

He shrugged.

She smiled up at him. He wouldn't even risk her getting a small scratch or bruise. She really felt safe with him. The amount of trust she had in him was so comforting. In her technical mind state, she had not known him that long, but he easily made her feel like they had been friends for all those years. If he wasn't here right now, she would be so much more frustrated with herself.

"...And I like carrying you," he added.

"All right, put me down." She frowned.

"Aww." He didn't move, just looked at her with a puppy-dog pout.

"Naruto!" she raised her voice.

Truthfully, she wasn't that annoyed, but she'd found herself having an ever-growing short temper. Being carried by him wasn't a bad thing, though a little embarrassing and she didn't want him to feel _too_ comfortable. She didn't want him to feel rewarded every time she fell down!

Naruto laughed and started to run. Her eyes widened, she squeaked and grabbed onto his jacket to hold on tighter as he began to run up the tree while still carrying her. He stopped on the next branch up, that was big enough to support them, and placed her down on her feet. He then sat down on the branch and offered her his hand to help her do the same.

Trying to keep some of her pride, after the noise she made on the way up, she ignored his help and sat down herself. However, she leant too far back when sitting down and began to tilt backwards. Naruto quickly placed a hand behind her back to steady her; therefore she avoided an embarrassing fall. She blushed and cursed inwardly herself – could she not do anything simple right?

Naruto ignored what nearly happened and smiled at her. "Hey look, you climbed the tree."

Sakura looked down at the floor below them and laughed, swinging her legs back and forth in the open air. "Oh yes, that was easy."

He grinned.

"So...when we did this the first time, did I catch you when you fell?"

Naruto laughed. "No, but that would have been amazing!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"You didn't ever really let me get that close, or talk to me much. You catching me is the sort of stuff my dreams were made out of!" He giggled to himself.

That didn't sound that nice to her. It wasn't giggle-worthy.

"Why didn't I let you get close?"

He shrugged. "I probably made a fool of myself and embarrassed you too much."

"I doubt that."

He smiled. "Trust me. If you think I'm an idiot now, you should have seen me as a child."

She hummed, looking away from him. "I don't think you're that much of an idiot."

"Really?" Naruto's eyes widened before he grinned at her.

She thought about it. He had done some idiotic things in the past few months, but mainly he was funny or cute when he did so.

"OK," she admitted, shooting him a teasing smile. "You are a bit of an idiot."

He pouted.

"But you're a sweet idiot."

Naruto grinned again. "That's me! I'm sweet!"

She laughed and hit him playfully on the arm.

Unprepared, he fell backwards, she went to grab him but missed and he fell to the floor with a thud.

"Naruto?" She peered down to see him lying on the ground. "Are you OK, Naruto?"

She was prepared to jump down when he burst out laughing again.

This guy was a little crazy.

"Are you hurt?" She watched him for signs of pain.

He stopped laughing and smiled up at her. "Nah! Don't worry, Sakura-chan, that was nothing!"

Sakura smiled down at him. He placed his hands behind his head and smiled back.

They watched each other for a while, enjoying each other's company.

She looked up at the blue sky. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and it was warm, but there was a gentle breeze that made it just the right temperature. If she wasn't supposed to be learning something important, it would be a perfect day just to relax and spend time together.

Naruto closed his eyes and she watched him again.

While she hadn't made any progress with chakra, she had a lot of fun. Was it just her, or did she find herself smiling twice as much when Naruto was around? She couldn't stop smiling at the way he looked at her, she had been failing epically yet she wasn't upset, he cheered her up when she was sad. Heck, he cheered her up before she had the chance to be sad.

Naruto could read her so well; he knew what to say and what to do... Despite her teasing, he'd been a good teacher really. She ran a hand along the trunk of the tree she was sat on – the stupid, impossible tree. Who knew something so simple could make her so embarrassed?

Naruto tried so hard to help. It was just a shame she had to go and disappoint him by learning nothing at all. She looked back down to see Naruto had opened his eyes and was looking at her again.

_See!_ He just knew - if she ever thought negatively about herself or was worried about something, he was working out how to make her feel better.

He tilted his head at her.

"What?" She watched him.

"You," he smiled, "this reminds me of when we were kids... You got way up the tree on your first try. I looked up from the floor and you were giggling on your high branch. It was amazing! You were amazing, so skilled... Although I was slightly jealous, I couldn't scratch what you could do. Your chakra control was perfect and I couldn't even give the definition of chakra."

She watched as he sat there smiling to himself - he always laughed or smiled when he was talking about her past self, he almost made her jealous of herself. He kept telling her she was amazing. He was the amazing one in her opinion.

"And just look at you now," she said teasingly, "teaching me."

He giggled.

"But you did fall out of the tree," she added.

"Ah, but you pushed me, Sakura-chan!" he countered.

"Could you not block or something?"

"I was distracted." He smiled.

"By me?"

"Yes."

"So you're blaming me?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I could have dodged if I wanted." He shrugged.

"Really?" Her eyes widened.

"Sometimes." He grinned.

Sakura thought about all the times she apparently hit him. Even recently she had given him the odd playful nudge that had come off stronger than intended – and sometimes her push was supposed to be that strong.

"Then why do you let me hit you?"

"Because..." He tilted his head again. "You'd probably only try again if you missed... I guess I kind of like the attention... Plus you say I deserve it anyway."

"You like being hit?" she repeated, surprised.

He grinned. "Only when you hit me softly, even then it still really hurts, but if I pout at you, you sometimes heal me or feel sorry for me and that's the best bit."

"I see," Sakura replied thoughtfully, raising an eyebrow.

"You do hit me a lot though... I don't know why," he mumbled.

"Because..." she trailed off and looked at him. She didn't know why she hit him so much, she kind of just found herself doing so.

Naruto looked up at her, waiting for an answer.

She hit him when he did stupid things, got himself into trouble and worried her - or when he had been sweet, but then said something that made her mad, or if he was _too_ sweet. If she couldn't handle it, the embarrassment came out in a controlled flailing of her arms in his general direction.

"Because you're an idiot," she concluded after a long silence, not being able to put how she felt into words.

He smiled.

"Do you like being called an idiot too?"

"Of course not," he said with a mock pout. "I'm crying on the inside, Sakura-chan."

Her smile fell a little - it was kind of mean.

He laughed.

"You really do like making me feel sorry for you don't you?" She frowned.

"No," he answered unconvincingly, his smile giving him away.

He did, he was doing it on purpose surely, playing with her emotions. She watched him smile... No, Naruto was Naruto, he didn't mean to make her feel like this. He just did. He really confused her. She must have sustained some kind of other brain damage when she hit her head or something, to make her feel this way. Maybe she was thinking of him when she got her injury and that left some strange impression on her.

She shook her head. She knew that wasn't how brain damage worked.

"Whatcha thinking about, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked her.

"Brain damage."

He sat up and raised an eyebrow.

"You know about brain damage right? Ino said you'd discuss some medical things with me."

"Uhh" -Naruto scratched the back of his head- "sure."

"Do you think your last thought can be remembered, even if everything else was forgotten, if you sustained a brain injury?" she wondered out loud. "And therefore, that thing can make your brain confused? Then he, uhh it, can make you feel, just so... No that's silly."

"It's not silly," Naruto spoke quietly. "Feelings can still be remembered even after a brain injury."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? I didn't think that was possible, the brain has input, process and output, right? One thing doesn't escape if everything else is suppressed."

"Love is never suppressed. You can take as many blows to the head as you want, you're still going to feel the same for him deep down, no matter what he does." Naruto smiled.

Love?

She frowned in thought. "That's not a very scientific argument, Naruto."

"It's true, trust me." He smiled.

She'd never read a book on that. She would have thought even if you felt really strongly towards someone, a simple knock to the head could eliminate that stimuli. She was trying to explain her confusion with science and that was just making her even more confused. Yet Naruto seemed to know exactly what she was talking about.

Wait... Did he think she loved him? He always seemed to know what she was thinking about. Had she just confessed to him, in a really weird way? She hadn't even confessed to herself. She didn't even know how she felt. She felt everything, if that was possible. She felt differently depending on how he looked at her. Like right now, he was looking at her oddly and that made her feel awkward.

She laughed weakly to herself.

"Are you OK, Sakura-chan?" Naruto studied her.

Did he now think that her loving him made her sad?

"I'm great!" she replied. Her jaw locked in an over-wide smile.

Naruto smiled back. "Want to get back to training then?"

"Yes," she answered immediately, glad for the topic change.

She needed to stop thinking about this. She needed to forget it and conclude that whatever emotions she was currently feeling were down to brain damage.

Naruto stood underneath the tree and held out his arms. "Jump."

"Huh?"

"Jump, I'll catch you," he told her.

She measured the distance in her head.

"Trust me," he added softly.

She looked him in the eyes...and pushed off the branch. She wasn't in the air for very long, she was soon in his arms. She wrapped her legs around his back and placed her arms around his neck, hugging him. Of course he caught her comfortably. He didn't need to ask her to trust him.

He hugged her back, a little surprised.

They stood there for a moment.

She pulled back and smiled at him.

He smiled back.

Their faces were pretty close together. The adrenaline from the fall had her heart beating fast - it also made her blush apparently.

Naruto swallowed.

"Umm...training?" she said awkwardly.

"Yeah" -he nodded dumbly- "umm, Sakura-chan? You're kind of-"

Oh. She quickly unwrapped her legs from around him, which was probably why he couldn't put her down.

He placed her on her feet and she quickly turned around, walking straight into the tree behind them.

"Oww..." she mumbled and slowly pulled away, cursing her idiocy.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan!" Naruto apologised instantly.

"It wasn't your fault." She rubbed her nose and turned back to face him.

"Are you hurt?" He asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," she smiled and lowered her hand. "Honestly."

"I should have stopped that," he mumbled.

"No it was my fault," she repeated. "I was distracted."

He studied her face for damage and she pushed him back. "I'm fine! Let's train!"

After making sure she wasn't bleeding or anything, Naruto nodded and their training session resumed.

* * *

><p>Frustration returned when she tried to walk up the stupid tree again. Naruto wasn't talking as much as before and therefore she grumbled to herself more frequently. He still caught her, but put her down straight away. She couldn't even begin to relax; she was more than tensed in annoyance.<p>

She pouted at the tree before turning to Naruto and asking, "Can you show me how it's done again?"

Pulling himself out of thought, Naruto nodded. "Sure, Sakura-chan."

"Are you OK?" she asked as he began to walk up the trunk. "You're quieter than you were before."

"I'm fine, Sakura-chan." He smiled. He walked upside down across the middle of the branch, until his face was level with hers.

"Not tired of me or something? Disappointed with me?" Sakura questioned seriously.

"Never," Naruto smiled affectionately at her. "Never ever."

She nodded and smiled back.

Her heart was beating really fast again. His smile was just as bright and warm upside down.

She took a step towards him and placed a hand on his face, tracing a finger gently along a whisker shaped mark on his cheek. She looked him the eyes and bit her lip. Something about him made her want to kiss him, for some reason he was really cute upside down. He was right there. She couldn't stop herself from leaning just that little bit closer. She placed her other hand on his other cheek and stood on tiptoes, about to kiss him.

"Hey, Sakura!"

Startled, she stepped back and tripped. Naruto lost his balance and fell out of the tree also. They both collapsed in a heap, next to each other on the ground.

Ino ran up to them and raised an eyebrow. "What are you two doing?"

Sakura shot up. "Nothing!"

A smirk crossed Ino's face. "Mmhmm. How goes the training?"

"Well, I still can't mould chakra, I can't walk up the tree." Sakura sighed.

"Can you even form chakra?" Ino raised an eyebrow. "If you can't feel chakra how are you supposed to mould it?"

Sakura looked at Naruto, who was still sat on the floor, and he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. She offered him and hand and pulled him up to stand by her side. They looked at each other for a moment, neither of them knowing the answer.

Ino looked between them and realised she wouldn't get a reply."Right... Naruto, you do know Tsunade was expecting you to report to her hours ago?"

"Oh," Naruto mumbled.

"And, Sakura? What happened to us having lunch together?" the blonde continued.

"Oh." Sakura looked away from Naruto. "Sorry, Ino, we lost track of time."

"I bet." Ino smiled before looking at their hands.

Sakura's eyes widened. She was still holding Naruto's hand! She let go and stepped back.

"Do you have something to say to each other or something?" Ino asked. "Or are you going to stand there and look at each other like lemons?"

Sakura laughed nervously and Ino watched her friend very closely.

"Thanks for trying to teach me, Naruto," Sakura smiled. "I'm sorry I wasted your time."

"It wasn't a waste of time, Sakura-chan, I had a lot of fun."

"Me too."

It had been a lot of fun. She'd really enjoyed her time. She had smiled and laughed, heard all about her past-self, had some pretty awkward and embarrassing conversations and moments. The smile on her face grew and then she was laughing, so was Naruto. They were a couple of dorks.

Ino watched them randomly burst out laughing, when they appeared to slowly come down from their giggle fit, she spoke, "You two do this sometimes."

"What?" Sakura replied breathlessly, rubbing her eyes that were slightly teary.

"You both just laugh and nobody knows what you're laughing at." Ino shook her head.

Sakura smiled and looked at Naruto. "I guess we just share the same sense of humour."

"Yeah..that's it." Ino rolled her eyes before clapping her hands together at Naruto. "Now come on, lover boy! Tsunade wants to see you and I want to talk to my friend."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sakura-chan?" Naruto smiled.

Sakura smiled and nodded back, watching him as he ran off in the direction of the Hokage tower.

"We need to talk." Ino grabbed her friend's arm and pulled her along.

"About?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Medical theories."

"Really?" Sakura got slightly excited. Had her friend finally decided to humour her?

"No, about Naruto, you airhead." Ino rolled her eyes. "What is wrong with you today? You're so slow."

She was wondering the same thing. She wasn't looking forward to this conversation. Then again, she needed to get some things off her chest, who better to discuss her feelings with than her best friend?

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

The original author notes on this chapter were over 1500 words long, so I've just cut out 95% of it:

'Whilst this was planned to be mainly NaruSaku, Sakura wasn't going to be so confused and awkward with her feelings :P I don't know how I feel about it XD. The last 2100 odd words were written on my iPod whilst I was in bed and I finished writing at about 2am, so I don't know if the quality dipped or it turned weird towards the end.'

I've left in the personal thank you to all that reviewed (good or bad), in order:

raidersfan777 (x8) – first reviewer and you've reviewed every chapter? Nice! :D  
>dbzgtfan2004 :)<br>King Nintendo (anomalous) :)  
>wolf191000 (x3) :)<br>RomanceGirlXXTsundereLuverxxX (x7) –waves– :)  
>FlameOfAFriend94 (x6) :D<br>ultranx (x3) :)  
>Dknight27 :)<br>SakuraBlueAngel (anomalous) :)  
>Katsumoto (anomalous) :)<br>NarutoLuver896 (anomalous) :)  
>Toast (anomalous) :)<br>AiKizuna :)  
>GetSmackedBro (x4) :)<br>vsncheze :)  
>NaruSaku means logic (x2) :), thanks for the birthday congratulations!<br>cRaZyGuRl093 :)  
>luvelguk :)<br>evryluvsmisty :)

Everyone gets a smiley face, thank you :P.

Sakura's explanation of chakra in the beginning was copied out word for word from the episode where they climb trees :) I do do research before I write and post these things – the medical topic on the bookshelf last week was a real medical topic, I ended up looking through a medical keyword alphabet – I do actually learn things when I write these stories and I do try to keep it somewhat realistic, as I said previously, the whole type of Amnesia that Sakura has is based on my Psychological knowledge and memory research.

Thanks for reading!


	10. Trees

**Amnesia**

Chapter 10: Trees

* * *

><p>"Right, let's talk about Naruto," Ino began, sitting opposite her friend at their usual spot in a small coffee shop that they liked to go to on their lunch breaks.<p>

"Do you think he likes me?" Sakura blurted out loudly, she then grabbed the drinks menu and hid her face, pretending to read, while the couple sat on a table opposite them looked at her oddly.

Naruto told her that he loved her... But then why would he act so quiet if she was trying to share her feelings back? He told her that a few weeks ago. Perhaps he didn't like her anymore. Now that she had no abilities or memories, what good was she to him? What was she worth now?

"Are you kidding? Did you receive some other brain damage we didn't know about?" Ino smirked, amused at her apparent stupidity.

Sakura raised her head to look at Ino. "I'm serious... It kind of got awkward when we were training together, I was talking to him about my feelings and I thought he'd figured me out but then he got so quiet..."

"Were you talking about Sasuke?" Ino frowned.

Sakura shook her head slowly. "No... Naruto, I think, I was just saying how I felt and I thought he might think that I like him."

"Naruto has always been blind to your love." Ino sighed.

"It's like he's forgotten I kissed him a few weeks ago...and now these feelings..." Sakura trailed off before asking, "Why did you bring up Sasuke?"

"If you mention 'Sakura' and 'loves' to Naruto, he'll think 'Sakura loves Sasuke'." The blonde shrugged.

"Why?" Sakura mumbled.

"That's how his brain works. He still thinks you like Sasuke, he is still trying to bring him back for you. If you didn't mention his name when you were weirdly confessing to him, like how you talk when you try and explain your jumbled thoughts but just confuse me... He'll think you were talking about Sasuke," Ino concluded, shaking her head.

Sakura nodded slowly. "He did freak out when I said I hated Sasuke."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Hate Sasuke? No, Sakura, he's your teammate and you want him back, but you don't love him either."

"Are you saying this because we're rivals because of Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

"No, Forehead." Ino laughed. "We're rivals because I'm better than you but you're too stubborn to believe it. We're stronger without Sasuke... Saying that, he is hot, I wouldn't mind dating him for a little while."

"I thought he was scary," Sakura murmured in reply.

Ino laughed.

"It's not funny."

"But he's still good-looking, right?" Ino grinned.

"I guess."

"But Naruto's also good-looking, right?" Ino wiggled her eyebrows.

Sakura didn't answer.

"Come on... Say you like him, include his name."

"I... I'm just confused, Ino." Sakura sighed.

This was not what she was supposed to be thinking about, but tonight if she was going to be kept up by her swirling thoughts, those thoughts would contain a certain someone who made her feel..._weird_.

"You're always confused! Sort out your thoughts, woman." Ino laughed.

"I don't have all my thoughts, Ino!" Sakura snapped back without thinking.

Ino's smile fell, she was silent for a moment before adding, "Maybe not, but you have your feelings. Your brain may be injured but you always went with your heart anyway."

"My heart won't help me heal people or be a ninja again," Sakura grumbled back.

"So you're confused about Naruto, frustrated with yourself..." Ino shook her head.

"Frustration is one way of putting it. It's devastating to try so hard and get nowhere."

"For a very long time, you tried very hard and got nowhere, ask Tsunade."

"Tsunade won't help me unless I can control chakra, she'd probably think I was trying to sneakily get information off her to help me get my abilities back." Sakura frowned.

"You'll get it, Sakura, but how do you expect to unlock the abilities you've lost if you're so messed up emotionally? Focus on sorting out your love life or sorting out your ninja career."

Sakura nodded. "I'll keep trying."

Ino's eyes widened. "You're picking your career over Naruto?"

Nodding slowly, Sakura continued, "Naruto isn't going anywhere. I can enjoy being around him regardless of whether we're _dating_ or not. But me learning to be a medic again will help not only him, but Konoha, and I don't want to let him down either. He was trying so hard to help me. If I ever get my abilities or memories back, then I'll confess to Naruto, I'll tell him how I really feel. That I might possibly feel something."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Then I hope you get your memories back soon, Forehead, for both of you...and my amusement. I'll hold you to that promise, by the way."

"I still need to clear things up with Naruto though, at least make him realise I wasn't talking about Sasuke, right?" Sakura asked.

"Right."

"OK thanks...I'll do that now." Sakura stood up, turned around and headed off in search of Naruto, still in deep thought.

As her friend walked away, Ino wondered if Sakura could really wait that long to explain to Naruto how she felt – Ino certainly didn't want to wait that long.

* * *

><p>"That 'training' with Sakura was 'cute', I hear." Tsunade hummed, sat in her usual chair.<p>

Naruto changed from being frightened (the last time he made Tsunade wait, when he was told to go and see her, Sakura had to bandage him up in several places... The extra attention from his teammate was pretty good though) to embarrassed. His face reddened slightly. "Why was someone watching us? I was there, she wasn't alone."

"Like I trust you after you and Kakashi lost her last time." The sannin shook her head.

"How was I supposed to know _Sasuke _would somehow get into Konoha and bait her away, when I was beating up Kakashi-sensei for Sakura-chan!" Naruto frowned. "I was putting everything into that spar, to avenger her!"

Tsunade smirked. "And you took her away without permission. Even without that, I just don't trust you, full stop."

Naruto slumped, lowering his head, he pouted at the floor.

"I'd usually let Sakura deal with you, but since she can't control you right now-"

"You spy on us," Naruto interrupted.

"Yes."

"But our training session was private!" Naruto whined.

"You didn't seem to do much training at all." Tsunade smirked. "Can she use chakra now?"

Naruto frowned. "No."

"Because you made her try a training exercise for after you can form chakra." The Hokage laughed.

"Well maybe if you help her," Naruto suggested.

Tsunade frowned. "No. I took her on as my student when she had near perfect chakra control, I moulded what she was good at, I didn't teach her from scratch."

"Then how can I help her?" Naruto asked.

"You could try not being such a pussy of a teacher."

Naruto looked confused.

"Sakura fell out of trees so many times and didn't get a single scratch on her. She didn't get to where she was through nice teachings. I was cruel and gruelling, look where that got her."

Naruto thought about it. He'd always felt sorry for Sakura; Tsunade was a really strict teacher who was not afraid to half-kill her student to get a message across. Jiraiya was also a tough teacher and it worked. But this was Sakura! He couldn't be mean to her. He couldn't let her get _hurt_, even just a little.

"You've got to let her fail, Naruto," Tsunade added seriously.

Naruto looked up with a smile on his face. "I'll never let her fail."

Tsunade smiled and shook her head. "Then good luck, kid."

"She can do it though, right?" Naruto asked.

"I never said that." Tsunade frowned. "My experience tells me that the odds are not in her favour."

"And what does your heart tell you?" Naruto pushed.

"Who am I? Sakura?"

The door knocked and Sakura herself stepped in. "Did I hear my name?"

"Yes, Naruto was just talking about you," Tsunade informed her.

Sakura closed the door and walked up to stand by Naruto, she smiled at him. "Was he now?"

"Uhh, yeah." Naruto rubbed the back of his head and grinned back.

"Good, I need to talk to you and I wondered if we could train again tomorrow?" Sakura asked nicely.

Tsunade laughed.

Sakura turned to frown at the Hokage. "What?"

"Good luck with that. Maybe he'll try and teach you to walk on water next." Tsunade smirked.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Can he?"

"I highly doubt it," Tsunade shot back, amused.

Naruto pouted and Sakura frowned again. "Don't be mean! I think he's a good teacher."

"He tried to teach you how to control chakra, when you can't even form it." Tsunade laughed again.

"That's more than you," Sakura replied, slightly annoyed.

Tsunade stopped laughing and Naruto tensed. Was there going to be a fight? He'd have to pick Sakura up and run, if the Hokage decided to take that personally. He sighed in relief when Tsunade smirked again.

"I told you, learn the basics if you want my help," Tsunade reminded her.

"...Did I try really hard and get nowhere when we used to train?" Sakura asked.

The sannin raised an eyebrow. "Trying to get information about our training sessions now, huh?"

Sakura sighed. She knew the blonde would take it like that.

"You were slower than I expected you to be on the combat side, at first, but you picked up the medical side quicker than anyone I've met before. You were a natural medic." With all traces of teasing aside, Tsunade added, "And I told you, amnesia can make people lose their natural talents."

"Yeah yeah," Sakura mumbled.

Tsunade's smile returned. "Not that that matters, you don't listen anyway."

"Exactly, I won't listen to what amnesia is trying to do to my brain either." Sakura frowned.

"It doesn't work like that. Amnesia has already affected your brain."

"Well I'll just kick amnesia's butt! And remember again." Sakura smiled.

"If amnesia was a person, I have no doubt that you would have beaten it senseless by now, but good luck with doing that to undo the effects it's had on your brain." Tsunade shook her head.

This was comforting for Sakura, when anyone spoke about her amnesia with her, the conversation went sad. But Tsunade, surprisingly, was the least serious about it. They joked about it, as cryptic as it was. Her mentor constantly told her she couldn't overcome her amnesia, and for some reason, it just made her want to try more.

"So I'll see you for a 'kicking amnesia's butt' training session tomorrow, Naruto?" Sakura turned to her teammate.

"Sure!" Naruto grinned.

"OK, at the same place, at 9 a.m." Sakura smiled back and turned to exit the room.

"Have fun kissing in trees tomorrow." Tsunade smirked.

Sakura paused and looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow. What had he told Tsunade about their training session? Why would he tell her about that stuff? Or was it Ino? She realised he was going bright red and glanced at her mentor. "Honestly, Shishou, I'm a perfectly professional student!"

Sakura left the room and Tsunade raised an eyebrow. She had expected that her comment would have made her apprentice blush or stutter in an amusing way. She wondered just what really was going on in her apprentice's brain damaged head. It affected the pink haired medic in ways she wouldn't quite expect. That wasn't always as fun. Naruto however, was still easy to embarrass.

Tsunade smirked. "Are you the unprofessional teacher then? Trying to kiss your student?"

"_No_!" Naruto spluttered quickly, awkwardly denying it.

"Mmhmm."

"Granny!" Naruto pouted. "I just want to help Sakura-chan, but it was fun at the same time..."

"Fun huh?" Tsunade smirked.

"Not like that! She's my friend and..." Naruto trailed off before mumbling, "It's not like she cares for me beyond that."

"If someone tries to kiss you in a tree, I think it means they like you."

"But-"

"Honestly, Naruto, how blind can you be? She looks at you the same way she did before she hit her head."

Naruto nodded.

Tsunade studied him. "You don't think she liked you before she hit her head either do you?"

He grinned idiotically.

Tsunade face-palmed. "I know Sakura can be oblivious to you-"

"Sakura-chan is very observant," Naruto interrupted.

"And you can be oblivious to her-"

"I'm never oblivious to her." Naruto frowned.

"-Feelings," Tsunade continued, ignoring his interruptions.

"I know how she feels." Naruto shrugged.

The Hokage raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Naruto nodded. "She loves Sasuke."

As soon as the words left his lips, Naruto seemed to shrink a little before he managed a pathetic, wry smile.

Tsunade sighed. "And you would be OK with that?"

"Of course."

"Well unlucky, kid, because she doesn't like Sasuke." Tsunade shook her head.

"Even now she has this unconscious connection to him that she can't explain," Naruto answered, placing a hand over his own heart.

"Why do you think that?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"She said."

"Did she use Sasuke's name?" Tsunade asked, even though she knew the answer.

"No."

"She wasn't talking about Sasuke, it should be obvious who she was talking about." Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"...Who?" Naruto asked sincerely.

Scowling, Tsunade reached for the heavy book, that she had thrown at Sakura before, and launched it at the blonde's head. Unfortunately, he dodged and it slammed into the wall behind him.

"What was that for?" He frowned.

"Maybe a book to the head will knock some sense into you," Tsunade grumbled. "I now know how it feels to be Ino."

Naruto looked confused.

"She always takes on the frustrating task of putting you two together," Tsunade explained.

"...I don't want to date Ino." Naruto frowned.

Tsunade twitched dangerously. How annoyingly slow could he be?

"I'm going to go now," he said quickly.

"Naruto Uzumaki." The Hokage raised her voice.

Naruto continued to back slowly towards the door.

"Sakura was talking about you when she was discussing how she felt," Tsunade spelt it out so he couldn't twist it.

Naruto paused.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Tsunade sighed.

"Because..." Naruto trailed off. "What do I do for her? I only cause her trouble. I've not brought Sasuke back yet. I'm just not good for her."

"You do more for her than anybody else does," Tsunade said seriously. "Do you not take note of how much she smiles around you?"

"She said I was an idiot." He smiled and shrugged.

"And smiled afterwards?"

Naruto grinned, indicating a clear 'yes'.

"Maybe you should watch how Sakura reacts to you instead of trying to come up with your own interpretations for the things she says."

Naruto didn't answer.

Tsunade smiled. "There is only one conclusion when it comes to you and Sakura."

"We'll be best friends forever?"

"Sakura has always said I was like a mother to her... I'm waiting for the grandchildren."

Naruto choked, his eyes widening in surprise.

"As long as they don't turn out like you, boy," Tsunade added.

Naruto pouted.

"Blind," Tsunade muttered.

Naruto's pout increased and he mumbled, "I'm not blind."

"Oblivious then."

Naruto was silent for a moment, thinking about Tsunade's conclusion of his and Sakura's relationship; he really wanted that to happen more than anything in the world. He looked up seriously and asked, "Why do you think that will happen?"

"When it comes to feelings and love, Sakura is always barking up the wrong tree. She spends all her effort trying to climb one tree and can't do it no matter how hard she tries, the tree is slippery and she just falls down. She returns to a tree that will protect her from any weather, that she could climb any day, which makes her smile and happy and when she realises that is the only tree she needs, she doesn't know which branch to go along, or if the tree wants to be more, or if she deserves it... And she's plain embarrassed and generally confused... Get what I mean?" Tsunade asked.

"No..." Naruto titled his head to the side before adding, "But I'd like to be that second tree."

Tsunade sighed and reached under her desk before pulling out a large bottle of sake. Naruto shook his head in disapproval but the sannin opened the cap and took a large swig, smiling afterwards.

"You're terrible! You're lucky Sakura-chan isn't here." Naruto frowned. "I should go and tell Sakura on you right now."

"Sakura won't do anything about it anymore." Tsunade hummed.

"Well I'll tell Shizune!" Naruto threatened.

"Do you want a bottle?" The Hokage offered.

"No, I don't drink."

Tsunade shrugged. Sometimes that worked with Sakura, it was all fun and games then.

"You're drunk aren't you?" Naruto asked. "With all this talking about twigs and stuff."

"Only slightly." Tsunade smirked.

Naruto shook his head and left the room.

Tsunade sighed again. It was a strange feeling wanting her apprentice to come in, blow up in rage and take her alcohol off of her. Yes, she'd complain if her sake was taken away, but she'd admit she liked that process. Seeing her apprentice mad and dangerous was one of the few joys in life.

Then again, so was alcohol.

* * *

><p>Sakura walked onto the training field, smiling when Naruto was already there. It was 9 a.m., the time they were to start training together this morning – he must have been here early, eager as ever, she couldn't help but be happy about that.<p>

"Morning, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned and ran up to her.

"Hey, Naruto, how are we training today then?" She smiled, continuing to walk towards the trees.

He walked with her. "I've been thinking," he began, "about something Tsunade said."

"Same here, I wanted to talk about yesterday," Sakura replied.

"What about?" Naruto asked.

"About what I was talking about when we were on our break..." She trailed off. "Why? What did you want to talk about?"

"Tsunade said I was a pussy of a teacher and she's right."

Even after her 'Naruto really does like you' talk with Ino, she began to feel doubt again. What if Naruto really wasn't bothered with the whole 'are you talking about loving Sasuke?' thing – it didn't seem to be on his mind now, like it was for her all last night and this morning, even after she told Ino she wanted to focus on sorting out herself and her career first.

Sakura frowned and stopped walking, turning to him and placing a hand on his shoulder, she smiled. "I think you're a great teacher."

"You didn't actually learn anything, Sakura-chan," Naruto pointed out.

"Sure I did... I learnt that feelings can actually still be remembered even after a brain injury." She smiled.

Naruto coughed. "Yeah, that's completely medically correct."

Sakura nodded. "There you go, I learned something."

Naruto avoided eye contact. "Anyway, Tsunade pointed out that I wasn't tough enough as a teacher, now it's not like I'm going to hurt you but perhaps you're not learning it because I'm too soft."

"Then what do you suggest?" Sakura lowered her hand from his shoulder and tilted her head at him.

Naruto hummed. "I don't know, my teacher pushed me off a cliff to teach me a summoning jutsu."

Sakura's eyes widened and she took a step back. "You're not going to push me off a cliff are you?"

Naruto laughed. "Of course not, Sakura-chan."

Sakura smiled and began walking again. "You'd catch me anyway, right?"

Naruto nodded but then added, "Do you think that's why you're not learning anything? You know I'd catch you if you fell, so there is no bad side to failing?"

They reached the trees and sat down. Sakura looked at him seriously. "There's a lot on my shoulders for failing. If I don't learn or remember my abilities and memories, I let everyone down."

"That's not true," Naruto frowned. "Nobody expects that of you."

"I expect if of me." Sakura smiled weakly. "And it makes everyone sad if I don't and I can't help my friends and Konoha..."

"You don't have to heal people to help them. You could just stand in a hospital room and the people would feel better, you just have that healing effect."

Sakura's smile widened at his words. "I'd like to do a little more than that."

"Then you will." Naruto looked at her, determined. "You'll remember, I'll help you."

"Do you think danger would actually force me to remember?" Sakura hummed. "That would make sense. I punched Sasuke when I was in danger, channelled chakra even if I couldn't form it. I know you won't physically put me in danger, but perhaps if I just feel it, enough to stimulate some kind of unconscious connection, then I'll be able to push myself to use chakra."

Naruto nodded, although he didn't seem too keen on the idea.

"Can you take me to the top of this tree?" Sakura asked. Looking up through the branches and leaves of the tree they were sat underneath, she added, "Right to the top."

"Sure," Naruto replied, grinning, he squatted down and held out his arms behind him, indicating for her to jump onto his back. She did so and he ran up the tree vertically, twisting up the trunk to dodge the branches until they reached the top of tree.

Sakura looked around at all the other trees and Konoha from this view. It reminded her once again that this place was beautiful. From where they were, she pointed over his shoulder into the distance. "What's that massive tower over there?"

Naruto followed the direction she was pointing in. From where they were they could see a large tower in the distance, surrounded by other tall trees. He answered evenly, "That's the central tower in the Forest of Death."

"Forest of Death?" she repeated. "That sounds dangerous."

"We had our Chunin Exam there."

"I don't remember that..." she mumbled.

"Did Sasuke or Kakashi not show you?" Naruto asked, although he didn't seem surprised.

"Sasuke was there? And no, neither of them showed me that place."

"Yeah..." Naruto swallowed. "That's where Sasuke was...bitten by Orochimaru."

"_Bitten?_" Sakura's eyes widened.

"Cursed," Naruto replied, sounding slightly pained.

From this position, Sakura was glad she couldn't see Naruto's face. She hated seeing him in pain, physically or emotionally. "Can we go there?" she asked, changing the subject. If she wanted to know more about this, she'd ask someone else, she knew how the topic of Sasuke really hurt him. That reminded her of what she needed to tell Naruto.

"We're not allowed inside," Naruto answered.

"Just to the outside then?" she pleaded.

Naruto smiled. "OK, If you want, but why?"

"Interest and maybe I'll just feel some danger being that close."

And she possibly had something stupid planned, she was glad he also couldn't see her face, because he'd know she was up to something.

* * *

><p>They walked up to the gates of the Forest of Death and her eyes widened. The place not only looked a lot bigger this close-up, but also dark and eerie. "It looks creepy," she commented.<p>

Naruto laughed. "The forty-forth training grounds. It is creepy. There's man eating bugs, man eating tigers, man eating snakes, man eating plants, all kinds of man eating things and traps and-"

"I get the picture," she interrupted. He wasn't helping her stupid idea seem less stupid, she already knew he wouldn't let her do it.

"But the worst part was Anko."

"Anko?" What awful thing was this 'Anko' that was scarier than all the other things in this forest?

"Yeah, the jonin who was one of the proctors for the exams. I'm glad she wasn't actually in the forest too, because she freaked me out."

Sakura laughed and Naruto grinned at her.

Sakura walked up to one of the gates and peered in. "So why can't we go in?"

Naruto raised any eyebrow. "It's forbidden, it's dangerous and it's only used for specific training exercises or big events like the Chunin exams."

"Dangerous huh?" Sakura mumbled. "You sound like someone who breaks the rules, Naruto."

"I always follow the rules," Naruto informed her smartly.

Sakura stepped back to stand by him. "I bet you do..."

He laughed.

"Ever broken in for fun?"

Naruto shook his head. "It's not fun in there, Sakura-chan. They barely even bother with maintenance. The fence at the 44th gate was damaged a while back, Konohamaru pulled a prank on his sensei, but they haven't fixed it yet."

"Oh?" Sakura looked at him.

"Some animal got out." Naruto laughed. "Shikamaru had to track it. It turns out he's not just good at thinking like humans and being one step ahead. Seals were put in place to keep all wildlife further back into the forest."

"I see." Sakura hummed.

"You can't get in without protection anyway. You step through that gate and you'll set off alarms." Naruto shrugged. "You don't really want to go in though anyway, right?"

Sakura smiled., "No, I told you, it looks really creepy."

But she did want to know more. This broken fence business intrigued her. She knew she couldn't ask Naruto though; he already seemed suspicious of her.

"You definitely wouldn't be able to get in anyway, you're being watched like a hawk," Naruto added, as if to try and put her off further.

Sakura looked at him and his eyes grew even wider when he figured out what he had just said.

"I'm not going to let you out of my sight!" He laughed awkwardly, trying to backtrack.

"I'm being watched?" Sakura looked at him seriously, all other thoughts forgotten.

"I told you, Sakura-chan! Someone has to be with your at all times!"

"...And when I'm alone?"

Naruto sighed. "You're likely being watched then too. Tsunade didn't trust just me to look after you either. Someone was even watching our training session yesterday."

Sakura was furious.

Just because she was brain damaged did not mean Tsunade had the right to have her followed everywhere she went! Her life was still private and should not be exploited and analysed for research into amnesia or something!

Naruto noticed the danger rising in his teammate and quickly added, "She's just trying to protect you. She doesn't want you to do anything stupid or something like that. Not like you'd do anything stupid! You're extremely smart and-"

"Naruto." Sakura smiled sweetly in a manner that did not help calm him at all. She opened her pouch that she carried around with her and looked in it. "I'm glad you told me, I appreciate it."

He relaxed slightly.

"But I am seriously going to give Tsunade a piece of her mind." Sakura's annoyance became obvious again. "I'm going to...throw a book at her!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow as Sakura pulled out a heavy looking book from her bag and waved it about in anger. She honestly had no idea how she could threaten the older woman and that made her even more infuriated.

"I wish I had my super strength, chakra control, whatever! My life is private. What right does she have to _spy_ on me?"

Naruto looked at the book she was waving about to try and catch the title.

Sakura's anger faded a little when she realised what book she brought with her this morning. Still confused and very interested after her talk with Ino yesterday, she had gone to her bookshelf and pulled out this book... She had spent a couple of hours reading it in bed last night before putting it in her pouch to bring with her if she found the time to read it later on. She handed it to him slowly.

"Love: The Biological Basis and Scientific Explanations," Naruto read out the title slowly before frowning and opening it to flick through the pages.

"It's uhh, about things like the limbic system, the nerve growth factor, the chemicals behind love," Sakura explained.

Naruto frowned. "It's rubbish. What about the heart?"

Sakura looked confused. "Technically, the heart is a myogenic muscular organ used to pump oxygen-rich blood throughout the body."

"No, Sakura." Naruto smiled. "The heart is the most important part to love! Newer research should show you that it's very important. It's what drives the process, creating your lombic system, nervous growth and the chemical stuff."

"Really?" Sakura mumbled, reaching out for her book, she turned it over and began to study the back cover. "I've not read anything about that research."

Naruto's smile widened. "Your heart is where the feelings come from! It's what makes you love...somebody."

"Yesterday, when I was explaining my feelings..." Sakura smiled weakly. "I wasn't talking about Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto's smile fell slightly and his eyes widened, before he said, "I know."

"And- wait, you do?" Sakura frowned.

All this time she had been worrying about nothing! He knew... That meant he acted awkward because he didn't like her back then. She lowered her head. So what? That's what she expected, that was probably best for him. Best for her! She wanted to concentrate on her work anyway, she said it herself.

"Yeah." Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

There was a long silence.

"Sakura-chan, I'm sorry I misunderstood what you were trying to say." He smiled.

She raised her head to look at him. What? Was this some kind of rejection or...?

"There are two types of trees," Naruto began.

Sakura looked at him oddly. "I'm pretty sure there are more than two types of trees."

Naruto cleared his throat. "You can't climb the slippery tree."

"I know I can't." Sakura frowned, raising her arms in the air, as well as he voice, she shouted, "I can't climb any tree!"

Perhaps he shouldn't have brought this up when Sakura was already angry at Tsunade for spying on her. Naruto swallowed. "I didn't mean that."

"I was trying to have a very serious conversation with you!" Sakura added. "I don't want to know your opinion on nature right now."

Naruto waved his hands frantically back and forth. "No no no! I was trying to, arrgh, Tsunade said it, and I was just trying to explain-"

"Tsunade put you up to this? Whatever this is?" Sakura frowned. "You're spying on me now, are you?"

"Of course not, Sakura-chan!" Naruto's eyes widened.

"I'm going over there right now to give that woman a piece of my mind!" Sakura announced loudly before turning away from him and stomping off.

"Wait! Let me explain!" Naruto called after her.

"I'm sure Tsunade will explain!" Sakura shouted back.

Naruto sighed. He sure hoped the Hokage could explain to his angry teammate the tree thing, he probably shouldn't have repeated it, but he thought it would have made him seem sweet or smart or _something_. He also hoped Tsunade didn't get mad at him for letting the 'you're being watched' rule slip.

He looked back the Forest of Death again, shivering at the memories. He also hoped that Sakura's suspicious behaviour was not her trying to plan something dangerous. Naruto looked at Sakura marching off in front of him before he lowered his head. He'd messed this up hadn't he? He was so confused.

Sighing again, he followed Sakura on her mission to verbally (and possibly physically) attack her mentor.

* * *

><p>All of a sudden, Sakura remembered everything. She began to glow before she vanished into thin air.<p>

XD

No.

This is the **author notes.**

That was a reference to the 'Road to Sakura' filler episode that recently came out where Sakura has amnesia... At first, I was comparing it to my story, how the characters would act, what Tsunade would do to analyse Sakura's memory loss etc... But then it quickly took its own turns and by the end I worried that I'd never be able to take this story seriously again XD.

This chapter was unplanned. I had a little idea which was supposed to transition to the main idea from the last chapter, yet I end up writing 5000 words before I'm at the point to introduce it - which you'll see in the next chapter ;). At the end of the last chapter I stated Sakura and Ino were going to talk, by the time I came to write this chapter, I'd forgotten what I was going to have them talk about specifically XD. One sentence that I wanted to include ended up turning into a conversation about comparing people to trees... It kind of got a little weird there, I apologise! XD. That's also why I named this chapter 'Trees' as a bit of a joke.

Last week, I had a surge of motivation in the early hours of the morning and started writing this chapter as well as finishing another story and writing a second chapter to another story. I also once again had the whole of the ending for this story planned out in my head – by morning, the motivation and the majority of the ideas for the end of this story had been forgotten.

'M-J', if you're reading this, I'd love to see a picture of that scene from the last chapter too! :D.

Thanks to everyone who still read, reviewed and favourited my stories even though I was fairly inactive. I've not been able to forget about this website with all the emails and notifications that I've received. I think it's crazy to still get about 1000 people read my stories in a month, even if I've not uploaded anything.

Woo for chapter 10!

Thanks for reading! :)


	11. From Big Idiot to Lesser Idiot

**Amnesia**

Chapter 11: From Big Idiot to Lesser Idiot

* * *

><p>Tsunade looked up from her desk when she felt the ground shaking. A big smile formed on her face. This was no earthquake. She knew this tremor very well. Sakura was mad, very mad - hopefully at her. Tsunade had been itching for a spat, and even if Sakura couldn't physically attack her it would be interesting to see what she could do. It wasn't like the girl needed chakra to be strong, and she often produced extreme and amusing facial expressions.<p>

When the door barged open, Tsunade made sure her face was completely blank. However, to add fuel to the fire, she reached under her desk and picked up her bottle of sake. She acted like she hadn't even seen Sakura - though she could feel the anger from the young medic, that was for sure. Taking a sip of sake, she smiled before putting it back down on her desk. She then looked up at her apprentice and spoke calmly, "Ah, Sakura, I didn't see you there."

Sakura looked like she was going to burst; her fists were tightening and her eyes shone with a ferocity that Tsunade loved to see. Even without memories of all the training they did together, Sakura could still be a scary woman. It seemed the girl had kept some of her personality...or she had grown very confident in the past few weeks. Although perhaps she got some of that fire from her mother, that woman seemed very argumentative.

Nobody picked a fight with the Hokage.

Nobody except Sakura.

Tsunade was glad that was still the case because she'd missed this side to the girl, as bizarre as it was. There was nothing more thrilling than seeing her pink haired medic break walls and make grown men wet themselves. Although...old Sakura knew the limits and just how far she could push them – did this Sakura know how far she could go before she would go beyond the point of being amusing?

"Do you have something to say to me?" Sakura smiled through gritted teeth.

This was the calm before the storm. Sometimes, if she really wasn't up for a fight, Tsunade could apologise about what was clearly wrong there and then. But right now, she didn't want to - and truthfully she didn't know what was wrong.

She titled her head. "How's chakra forming going?"

"You would know!" Sakura shouted, unable to control her temper any longer.

"Would I? Why is that?"

"You've been spying on me! Had people watching me when I'm alone, even when Naruto is with me!"

God damn Naruto.

"You have no right to invade my privacy like that! I am not some medical experiment for you to study and see how I react to different situations. You're really not helping me out here!"

As Sakura rambled on, Tsunade took another sip of her sake.

"Tsunade Senju!" Sakura growled.

The sannin raised an eyebrow. Now that was new. _Nobody_ called her by her surname. She forgot the last time it had been used and in such a tone... She frowned. Not that she cared when Sakura disrespected her - she did it all the time. Still, she played along. "Yes, mother?"

"You're so immature! You're not taking any of this seriously! It's very serious! I-I..." Sakura trailed off and frowned to herself.

"You what?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"How do you threaten the Hokage of Konoha?" Sakura grumbled, realising she was getting nowhere.

Tsunade smirked. "You don't."

"I'm going to steal all of your sake!"

"Mmhmm." Tsunade hummed and drank more alcohol.

"And what the hell is this business about slippery trees?"

Almost choking on her sake, Tsunade coughed slightly before laughing out loud. Seeing Sakura's amusement only made her laugh more.

_Whack_.

Tsunade stopped laughing and glanced past her desk to see a heavy book face down on the floor. She then looked back at a now happy looking Sakura. Her apprentice just threw a book at her head... Tsunade gave the girl a death glare. "What did you just do?"

"Do you not remember?" Sakura answered, not faltering at her mentor's scowl. "I just threw a book at your head, like you did the other day. I was just returning the gesture. Have you got amnesia now? Did I hit you a little too hard?"

Tsunade smirked dangerously. "I don't know... What was your name again? I know your features... Girly pink hair, a big forehead..."

Sakura's jaw dropped open.

Tsunade had never mentioned Sakura's forehead as a way of insult before. She knew the girl was sensitive about it, or at least had been when she was younger... And those memories of her childhood were probably a lot more prominent right now since she couldn't remember her later memories. Tsunade looked for signs of hurt in Sakura's expression but there was only anger.

"I don't think it's amnesia," Sakura spat back. "It must just be old age."

_Old age_.

Now Sakura did use that as a way of teasing her - when she seriously wanted a fist to her stomach.

"Don't worry, _grandma,_ we can get someone to watch over you 24/7 in case you really do have amnesia. Wouldn't want you doing anything stupid would we? Old people can go a bit loopy anyway. You're more likely to have dementia."

* * *

><p>Naruto took a deep breath as he walked up the corridor to the Hokage's office. Sakura picking a fight with Tsunade - what harm could be done? Surely it couldn't be as bad as when Sakura had her memories, she couldn't blackmail the sannin or use past events against her. If it goes serious Sakura didn't even have her monster strength for a spar. He listened closely but it was silent.<p>

He stood up a little taller. Maybe it had all blown over already. Good.

There was a loud smack and then a deafening crash. Naruto's eyes widened as Sakura flew through the wall of the Hokage's office and hit the corridor wall in an explosion of plaster and dust.

Panicking, he sprinted to his teammate's side and shouted, "Sakura-chan!"

"Naruto?" Sakura mumbled with her eyes closed, her face contorted in pain.

"Are you all right?" he asked quickly before looking through the hole in the wall to see a smug-looking sannin. "What the hell was that for, Granny?"

"She called me old." Tsunade shrugged and reached under her desk before pulling out another bottle of sake and popping its cap. "Besides, she still has the body of a ninja."

Sakura opened her eyes and tentatively pushed herself up into a sitting position, and then a standing position. Ignoring the pain, she walked back into the Hokage's office as normally as possible. "You said I have a big forehead," she said, but her voice was not as loud as earlier.

Tsunade sighed and took a sip of her sake, thinking of what to say. Punching her apprentice satisfied her need to...punch her apprentice. Every now and then she got that urge. Sakura similarly liked to make fun of her in return on the odd occasion. But sometimes, one of them pushed it too far and it was very rarely Sakura - because that girl was just way too emotional.

"So what?" Tsunade answered. "I've always said it suits you."

"Suits me?" Sakura repeated.

"Yes."

Sakura stood there in silence for a while, frowning to herself before she spoke, "You shouldn't be drinking so much."

Tsunade reached under her desk again and pulled out another bottle of sake before throwing it to her apprentice. When Sakura almost dropped it, Tsunade sat up straighter, a little panicked. If Sakura had dropped her sake just then, she would have been prepared to _really_ hit her.

"You can't bribe me." Sakura frowned at the bottle in her hand.

"It's your favourite." Tsunade argued.

"Really?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Yes... I'm sure Ino has got you to drink by now and so you've realised how much you like sake, right?"

Sakura shrugged passively.

Tsunade smirked. That meant 'yes'.

"Still...it's not much of an apology," Sakura added.

"I'm sorry for saying you had a big forehead." Tsunade smiled.

"And?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

Tsunade mirrored her apprentice's expression. It was rare she said sorry to the girl, so Sakura was pushing it if she wanted two apologies.

Sakura sighed. "I'm sorry for calling you old."

"You always call me old," she replied, as if it were no big deal.

"You're not old."

The sannin smiled. "I'm sorry for punching you through a wall."

"Yeah..." Sakura stiffened. "Can you fix that?"

"The wall?"

"_Me_."

Tsunade smirked. "You walked it off like it was nothing."

"I'm glad you thought that, but I think you broke my back," Sakura mumbled.

"Fine, if it's _that_ bad, I'll take a look at. Head up to the hospital," she ordered.

Naruto, still stood in the wall rubble, watched as Sakura walked passed him and then as the Hokage followed. Both of them exited the room through the gigantic hole, each of them with a bottle of sake in hand.

He never understood the bond those two had. Many a times they would shout and fight and half kill each other and then they'd just smile, shrug it off and talk as if nothing had happened. They fought like two guys, solving their problems with fists instead of angry words (although sometimes they did both), never falling out for too long.

Naruto knew for a fact that when either of them were angry, any sane person made themselves scarce - and when they we're both angry, not even Shizune jumped in to break it up. He shook his head and looked up to see Sakura exit through a door down the corridor, Tsunade then glanced over her shoulder, signalling for him to wait there before she mouthed to him 'slippery trees'.

He looked at the floor and Tsunade smirked before following her semi-hobbling apprentice.

* * *

><p>The Hokage watched Sakura attempt to get comfy on the bed, but her discomfort was clear. She probably had damaged her back quite badly.<p>

Tsunade walked calmly to the stool next to the bed before sitting down and ordering, "Sit with your back to face me."

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"So I can heal your back."

Sakura sighed but turned around anyway.

Tsunade smirked. "You just wanted to watch me heal didn't you?"

"Yeah," her apprentice grumbled in reply.

Tsunade laughed. "Is that the only reason you asked me to heal you?"

"No," Sakura shook her head, "it really does hurt."

Tsunade studied the girl's injury and raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's badly bruised, but not as bad as I thought it would be... You only broke one rib."

"Only?" Sakura glanced over her shoulder, wincing as she did so.

"It could have been a lot worse."

There was a small silence before Sakura asked, "Then why wasn't it?"

Tsunade didn't reply.

"Did I heal it when I was unaware?"

"No. But it looks like you cushioned the blow." Tsunade hummed.

Sakura's eyes widened. "How?"

"I taught you how to. You build a protective layer of chakra before impact, like pre-healing, to soften big blows. But you used to use it a lot. You may as well if you can control chakra as well as you could and move it to different parts of the body within seconds. It's great for switching from offence to defence as quickly as possible or vice versa."

Sakura nodded. "I see."

There was another silence.

Tsunade let out a small sigh. Truthfully, the fact that Sakura possibly used chakra didn't make her feel better. So far, Sakura's abilities had only been awoken by pain and danger, while that was a good thing and might save her life one day... She didn't want Sakura getting any silly ideas to try and get her full ninja and medical skills back.

"You know, earlier I wasn't talking about apologising for the forehead or punching me through a wall thing," Sakura broke the silence.

"Oh?" Tsunade mumbled.

"The spying on me has to stop."

"It was for your own safety."

"I know but it's not fair." Sakura frowned. "I don't want my privacy being intruded upon every day for the rest of my life."

"OK. Is that all you were mad about?" Tsunade asked.

"...Yes."

"Are you sure?" she asked. "You seemed very worked up."

Her apprentice hesitated. "What did you tell Naruto about? I was having a very serious conversation and he started talking about trees and that I couldn't climb them."

Tsunade smiled. "I was drunk when I made that up."

Sakura gave a small snort before replying, "Well it's an interesting way to reject a girl."

"Reject?" Tsunade repeated. "It wasn't a rejection. He most likely butchered it. It was a poetic story about you and men. The men were represented by trees."

Sakura laughed. "I didn't get that from it at all. Still, whatever you said, he must have changed it."

"Why?"

"Ino told me that Naruto probably got awkward after our conversation yesterday, which you likely know about because you're a spy, because he must have thought I was talking about Sasuke. So I went to explain that I wasn't and he just said he knew, therefore he must have been awkward because of me possibly talking about him in _that_ way."

Oh Sakura... Tsunade didn't know who was worse, her apprentice or Naruto. Naruto probably, he'd seemed to let a few things slip today and Sakura made it worse by not giving him the chance to explain. Naruto had never been a good message delivery boy. She probably shouldn't have confused him by throwing trees into the mix.

Tsunade shook her head. "Sakura, I also explained to Naruto that you were not talking about Sasuke before he spoke to you."

The realisation hit Sakura. "Oh."

"Yes, 'oh'. You didn't give him a chance to explain did you?"

"No," Sakura mumbled.

Tsunade smiled. "I'm sure if you did, he would have made something cute out of it."

"I was angry over the 'you spying on me' thing." Sakura sighed but then asked, "You'll stop that now right? I even unconsciously help myself if I ever get hurt, and how can I get hurt in Konoha?"

"You? Easily." Tsunade received a very hostile look. "Fine, no more people watching you, but you have to promise to behave."

"Thanks, shishou." Sakura smiled.

Tsunade sat there for a little while. Something wasn't quite right here.

Yes, Sakura always had a short temper, but with her amnesia, she wouldn't think that part of her personality would be that prominent still. Then her using chakra unconsciously again, was it really because of danger? That wasn't even the fishiest thing. "How did you know my surname was Senju?" She asked.

"You're the Hokage...everyone knows..." Sakura replied.

"I wasn't the Hokage when you were a child. Did you know of me when you were eight years old?" She questioned.

Sakura's smile fell and she frowned in confusion. "No I didn't. Maybe I heard someone say it. I just knew it."

Tsunade nodded. This was definitely fishy. In her short temper outburst did she remember this information? What really pushed her to be so mad? Danger didn't make her mad and it didn't make her remember something about this life she shouldn't have known – or did it? This just didn't add up. "Sit here for a moment," she ordered. "I'll get Naruto to return your love book."

Tsunade walked around the bed and smirked at the small blush on her apprentice's face.

* * *

><p>As soon as she entered the corridor leading to the Hokage's office, Naruto jumped forward. "Is she OK?"<p>

"Of course."

Naruto looked at her in disbelief and pointed at the new entrance into the Hokage's office.

Tsunade snorted and walked up to her room, once again entering through the hole in the wall. "She's fine, I healed her. She was more bothered about you letting slip that she was being monitored, and the fact that she thought you knew she was originally talking about you and not Sasuke."

"Oh." Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"I specifically told you after last time," she began with a frown. "Not to let Sakura know the rules concerning her amnesia."

"Well it's unfair!" Naruto frowned back. "Who wants to be followed their whole life?"

"...You let it slip on purpose?"

Naruto was aware that if Tsunade decided to punch him, he would go through the hole in the wall, then the corridor wall and therefore down several flights to the ground below. He shuffled between his two feet. "Maybe."

The Hokage frowned. "I told her she won't be watched anymore anyway, happy?"

Naruto frowned to himself. "I think she should be one more time."

"Why?"

"I think she's planning to go into the Forest of Death," Naruto announced.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Why would she do that?"

"Because she thinks danger is helping her get back her abilities."

"I possibly think so too." The sannin hummed. "But it's temporary to that moment, and danger seeking is more likely to get her killed than fix her amnesia."

Did she really still think that danger was the key to unlocking her apprentice's memories? She wasn't so sure anymore. At first she did, but now she was beginning to question it. It seemed that Sakura had come to the conclusion 'danger equals abilities'. Therefore it was very possible Sakura would do something like enter the Forest of Death.

"I may have also let slip about the loose fence near the 44th gate." Naruto winced. "I got carried away with the story about Shikamaru having to track that animal... But now I'm more than suspicious that Sakura-chan wants to go in there."

Tsunade sighed. She picked up Sakura's book off the floor and threw it at the boy before ordering, "Get that plan out of her head, while you're at it, give her this book and you might as well clear up the Sasuke mess too."

Naruto looked at the book before nodding. "Have any advice on what I should say?"

Tsunade laughed. "I think it's best you come up with the words on your own. After you've done that, find Kakashi, I'm sending you on a two-man mission."

Naruto pouted.

"Don't give me that look." Tsunade scowled, not willing to take any more trouble from either of the teenagers today.

"But I want to be here in case Sakura-chan tries to do something dangerous," he whined.

"I'll deal with it." Tsunade nodded. "But at least try and deter her."

"You'll fix the fence just in case?" Naruto asked.

"Yes."

Naruto nodded and left the room.

Tsunade sighed. When it came to Sakura, that boy was always making even more of an idiot of himself than usual. At least he was on the ball. She also thought that Sakura was planning something stupid and this Forest of Death plan might just be it. She knew what to do and this time Naruto's idiocy may have helped them out. She smiled to herself, that boy had less skills with women than Jiraiya.

Tsunade reached for another sake. Shoot. She'd given her last bottle to Sakura...and now she had a hole in her wall.

Taking a deep breath, she shouted, "Shizune! There's a hole in the wall again."

* * *

><p>Naruto put on a big smile as he entered the room Sakura was currently sat in. He walked up to the bed and handed over her reading material. "You forgot your rubbish book."<p>

Sakura laughed as she received the book, she looked down at it, checking it for any damage after she had thrown it at her mentor's head. There was a small silence.

"I'm sorry-" they both said at the same time.

Sakura frowned. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"I upset you. I made you think something that wasn't true," he elaborated.

"I didn't let you explain," Sakura countered. "And Tsunade may kill you for letting the rule about me being watched slip but I appreciate it. There aren't any other rules that invade my rights or privacy are there?"

Naruto grinned. "Nice try, Sakura-chan."

Sakura smiled back.

There was another small silence.

"You know it wasn't about Sasuke then, so we're cool? There's nothing awkward between us? We're still friends?"

_Friends? _Naruto tried not to wince, he smiled. "Always, Sakura."

He thought that maybe she liked him. She knew he liked her. But he couldn't really explain how he felt about all of this after she just said that, could he? "I'm going on a mission with Kakashi-sensei," he announced.

Sakura didn't look as displeased as she usually did, but she said, "Aww, you're not chasing Sasuke again are you?"

"No." He smiled slightly, not quite managing a bright expression.

"I don't like this." She frowned.

"What?" His eyes widened.

"That as soon as Sasuke's mentioned, everyone goes sad," she explained. "How are we going to bring him back if we can't even talk about him? He makes things awkward and he's not even here."

It would be nice to have a more positive outlook on getting their friend back – because either way, he would never give up on his best friend or his promise to Sakura. He smiled honestly. "You're right."

Sakura smiled back. "Good."

Naruto turned serious again. "But I do have to go now. You won't go doing anything dangerous whilst I'm away right?"

"Of course not." Her smile turned unnaturally wide.

"Because earlier on, I had the impression you wanted to go into the Forest of Death or something."

"Oh no." Sakura shook her head. "Your description of the place was enough to scare me away forever."

"OK, that puts my mind at ease, knowing your safe whilst I'm not around," he added.

Sakura continued to smile.

"See you soon?" He got up and headed to the door.

"Yes," she nodded, "be safe."

"You too." He grinned at her before exiting the room.

After he shut the door, his smile fell. Sakura was lying to him. She still wanted to go into the Forest of Death and put herself in danger to try and counter her amnesia.

At least Tsunade was going to fix the fence, right? Sakura shouldn't be able to get in even if she tried. He'd come back from his mission and everything would be fine. He prayed that would be the case.

* * *

><p>"We're still friends?" Sakura repeated to herself before mumbling, "Sakura, you idiot!"<p>

Naruto obviously knew what she was planning. It made her guilty that she still wanted to go through with her plans. It had to be danger that was unlocking her abilities, maybe even her memories! Knowing that could be the case excited her to no end. She had to try. Naruto wouldn't be here to stop her. Tsunade was stopping the spying act. Everything was falling into place.

But could she lie to Naruto? Do something that could possibly hurt him? Risk annoying Tsunade and then getting punched through another wall? Was it worth that risk?

She didn't know the answer. She'd go home tonight and think it through. Tomorrow she could be safe in bed...or in several pieces on the forest floor. Hopefully, she'd be forming and moulding chakra. She tried not to dwell on just how unrealistic and optimistic that plan was.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

Hey look at that! Two days in a row. The chapter I stated would be this one, in the last author notes, has now been pushed to being the next chapter. I'm finally getting into my ideas for this story. I promise that Naruto's idiocy in the last chapter was trying to benefit the plot, and I hope I redeemed him a little bit in this chapter. The chapter title is named after him. I also apologise for the joke at the end of the last story, it was a little mean.

I wrote more than half of this chapter last night... Then it's always great to wake up to emails and reviews :) thank you all. I also love knowing your theories and predictions for what you thought might have happened earlier on, or what you think will happen in future chapters. It's really interesting to read, as well as your feedback/constructive criticism.

I posted four other stories today too. I made the story covers like I said I would in yesterday's author notes. Sometimes it's nice writing and finishing a lot of stories before uploading them. I've also replied to all the reviews I received so I've been very active with this website today! It's a good way to get me back into writing.

Thank you for reading! :).


	12. Gate 44

**Amnesia**

Chapter 12: Gate 44

* * *

><p>Sakura woke up in a cold sweat. She shot up in bed, quickly looking around the room in panic. Her erratic heartbeat began to slow down as she tried to calm her breathing. That was one hell of a nightmare...so much so that she was almost certain it was a memory. It <em>had <em>to be real.

She had been in the Forest of Death but she was a lot younger. Sasuke was there too - he was bitten, by a really creepy snake man. It was the 'Orochimaru' person that Naruto had talked about.

Did she only dream about this because Naruto had mentioned it? That couldn't be the case, a lot more happened. This man was in a woman's skin, he poked his eyeball and she felt so overcome with fear. She saw herself die... But Sasuke saved her, he fought well, only to be bitten and go through severe pain. She then found herself feeling guilty for saying she hated Sasuke. She understood why she wanted him back now... He had been such an innocent child it seemed - until this event. He was her childhood friend and teammate. He had to have cared at one point, right?

This nightmare was so frightening because it was so realistic. It was real, it must have been - it felt like she was living it there and then. All of her senses were working. She could still smell the forest, feel the tree she had been sat on, feel Sasuke as she hugged him close to her as he collapsed, tears rolling down her cheeks. It didn't feel like a dream, it felt like a living memory.

Still trying to calm herself, she smoothed her bed sheets with her fingers, hoping to bring herself back to reality and out of the nightmare world. She sat there for several minutes, staring at her bedroom ceiling, her thoughts reeling.

When she had gone through the early alphabet of her bookshelf, she read a book on dreams. It stated that you couldn't dream of someone and see their face if you hadn't seen them in real life, that it is impossible to dream of strangers. It also went deeper, apparently dreams were the way to her unconscious thoughts. Maybe this was a message?

She had been debating whether to go into the Forest of Death or not. Maybe this dream was telling her to go for it. Maybe she'd find her memories! She had stayed awake for a good few hours last night in inner turmoil. To go or not to go, that was the question. Naruto didn't want her to do this, she knew it would upset him, it could possibly get her killed.

But after this dream, after this nightmare memory, she had to do it, she had to try.

_I'm sorry, Naruto._

* * *

><p>After a quick shower, Sakura had gotten dressed in a rush. She skipped breakfast. She wasn't hungry. She wanted to go through with her plan right now. The fact that danger could be the key to unlocking her memories excited her to no end.<p>

Feeling ready, she headed for her apartment door. Then she paused. Her common sense and instincts kicked in.

She felt ready to go into a literal forest of death? No she wasn't. She wasn't prepared. What if her abilities didn't come back? How would she fight off man-eating animals with her bare, ordinary, ability-less hands? She couldn't get her memories back at all if she was dead.

_Silly Sakura_.

Slowing down and thinking it all through, she turned around and headed back into her bedroom. She opened the wardrobe and looked through the part that had only upset her to look at originally. Her ninja gear, her medical equipment. These items made her feel dumb when she studied them. This was her stuff, but she couldn't use it or explain what half of it was.

She thanked her past-self for being so organised. Once again, like the alphabetical bookshelf, her seemingly neat personality had really helped her out. She pulled out a belt and strapped it around her waist. Next, she picked out what she assumed was her medical pouch. Finding a space on her belt, she attached it.

Tentatively looking through all the slots and pockets on her belt, she felt comforted by the weapons and ninja equipment - even if she couldn't use them. Opening her pouch, she spotted black material.

Intrigued, she pulled it out and studied it. Black gloves.

Sakura smirked to herself, before pulling them over her hands, tugging them tight and letting them go. They snapped into place.

_Now_ she was ready.

* * *

><p>After her initial confusion and discomfort that she had felt when travelling around Konoha, she now felt less lost. It was more comfortable to find her way around her long-time home. Something about going to these places with Naruto made her remember the way. The memories were happy, she guessed. Everything he said stuck in her mind, probably because it was either funny or silly, or sad and angry. There was no 'normal' middle ground of emotions that came from him, or her, when they were together. Whatever he said, she would listen and she would remember.<p>

She kept her head high as she followed the path - the same path she had been carried along yesterday - she wanted to look confident in case someone questioned her direction. Then again, she wasn't being followed anymore and who exactly heads past the Forest of Death on their morning strolls? With a bit of luck, nobody would know she was here.

Naruto had left on a mission, this was the only time it was a good thing. She'd just have to entertain herself.

When she came to the tall fence of the forty-forth training grounds, she filled up her lungs with oxygen before letting out a slow, deep breath. _I'm prepared_, she thought. _I'm ready_.

Yesterday, she had been intrigued by this place, but now Naruto wasn't with her, all the right alarm bells were ringing.

She shut them off and forced herself forward, hating how nervous she was. She had a sinking feeling deep in her gut. Gate 44... Gate 44... In Japanese culture, the number "44" is considered an especially ominous number because "4" rhymed with the word for death, which was also considered an unlucky number. That thought did not help her calm down right now.

"Aha," she spoke aloud. Gate 44. Then she frowned, the gate, along with the fencing surrounding it, looked just like the rest of the forest's fencing - strong, not broken in the slightest. Although it did look a little abandoned and underused, who'd use the last gate when they had the first 43 to pick from anyway?

Naruto had said,_ "You wouldn't even know the fence was broken"_. Hoping no alarm bells would go off, she ran her gloved hand down the fence that joined with the gate. There was no sign of police coming to stop her, but no sign of weakness either... She stood back and looked at the fence, a thoughtful expression crossing her face.

It was an animal that broke through the fence.

Kneeling down, she pushed at the very bottom of the fence and felt it dip in more than further up.

This was it. Her ticket into the Forest of Death. Naruto was right, if you didn't know about this hole, you'd never find it. Silently thanking her friend's slip of the tongue, she outstretched her palm against the metal and pushed, forcing the hole to reopen. She smiled to herself, before lying flat on her stomach and sprawling through the animal-sized gap in the fence.

When she was through, she stood up and dusted herself off before looking back at the little hole she'd pulled herself through - what kind of animal made that? It was only small, but that metal was strong and it had been made weak enough for her to just bend back.

Again, she swallowed down her growing fear and anxiety. Her heart was racing and her brain was screaming at her as she took her first few steps into the Forest of Death, walking parallel to the Gate 44 secret entrance.

* * *

><p>This place was a lot bigger than she thought it would be, seeing it from a distance did not do its size justice. This place was <em>big<em>.

Her plan had been to head for the centre tower but that felt like a long way away now. She'd kept to a straight line in the hopes of finding the centre as quickly as possible. However, shrubs and trees forced her path to become crooked every now and again. Her little confidence that she had when coming into here was slipping away fast.

She wished Naruto was here with her, or Ino, or just _somebody_. But she couldn't turn back now, and it was likely she couldn't find her way out even if she wanted to, this place all looked the same. A slow rising panic filled her.

_Come on, Sakura, you can do this. This is for Tsunade, for Naruto, for your friends, you have to unlock your abilities and memories again in whatever way possible._

It didn't matter how much she had enjoyed herself after her brain injury, how much her friends made her forget her troubles, there was still this lingering feeling, deep, deep down - _you have to remember, how can you forget everything you've ever learnt? What is left of you now? Nothing worth knowing. _

She wasn't blaming Naruto, but this feeling was worse when she was with him. No matter how happy he made her feel, afterwards she felt so angry with herself, like the biggest burden ever, useless and empty. It was going to drive her crazy.

Along with everything else that made her uncomfortable, she swallowed it down and turned her attention elsewhere. She forced Naruto's face from her mind; it only made her feel guilty right now.

Deep in thought, she caught her foot on a tree root and fell face down to the ground. She cursed her lack of concentration, in the Forest of Death of all places.

_"Sakura."_

She heard her name and her head shot up - that was Sasuke's voice and she was immediately torn. Was this the current Sasuke? Or the Sasuke in her dreams? Her friend? It would be current Sasuke surely, she swallowed and stood up. She backed herself towards the large tree she had tripped over.  
><em><br>__"Sasuke."_

Her eyes widened in fear. That was the other man from her dream! The creepy snake guy, girl, demon, _thing_. Whatever he was, he was terrifying. Was he here too? What could she do? Where would she hide? She looked around in panic.

_"Naruto! Sasuke's hurt, I need you!"_ she heard herself shout through sobs and froze.

Why was she hearing her own voice? Was she going crazy? Had this forest pushed her off the edge of insanity? Was she under some kind of jutsu? Maybe from one of these dangerous animals that inhabited the forest. Could animals use genjutsu? She frowned at the silly thought. Speaking of animals...for a forest apparently full of them, she'd seen none.

Something was very wrong.

Then, she could hear crows. Their calls pierced her ears, but when she looked up she could see no birds. She heard herself sobbing again...

_"I don't know what I'm supposed to do..."_

She span around, hearing bushes rustle behind her, but saw no movement. Her heart began to beat so loudly it vibrated her ribcage and it was all she could hear, but voices up in front of her rang louder throughout her ears. She ran straight towards the insanity at top speed, hoping she'd find actual people.

* * *

><p>Sakura kept running and running, but all she found were trees upon trees. She didn't understand - the voices she could clearly hear were so close, yet no matter how fast and far she ran she couldn't find anyone.<p>

_"Some lookout you are, you're half asleep."_

_"Wake Sasuke up, we want to fight him..."_

_"What do you want here? I mean, what do you really want?"_

_"I can't stay quiet after hearing you talk to us like that. First I'm going to kill this girl and then I'm going to kill Sasuke..."_

_"Now we kill her!"_

She shut her eyes tightly and covered her ears, trying to drown out the voices, but she could still hear them. They were clearer than ever. Slowly sinking to the floor, her hands came up to her head. She gripped her hair tightly and her breath came out in short, uneven pants.

_"Clearly you have no talent as a ninja."_

_"Leaf Hurricane!"_

_"I will always appear, anytime and anywhere you are in trouble, Sakura."_

_"I will protect you until I die."_

_"Now watch, we're going to show you something called 'The Wall'."_

_"Lee! What's wrong?"_

When she knew it wouldn't just go away, she sat up slowly and let her hands fall to the forest floor. She opened her eyes and they went wide. She could see herself, three Sound ninja surrounded her. Lee was in front of her younger self, holding his ear.

"_Stop it!_" She watched herself call out.

The vision warped and she watched herself get pulled up by her hair by the female Sound ninja, the girl version of herself in front of her was crying.

_"Hey, Zaku! I know what would be fun, let's make Miss. Beauty Queen watch whilst you finish off that Sasuke guy?"_

She shut her eyes again. She didn't want to see this. It was like her nightmare all over again, but the fact that she was awake and seeing this freaked her out even more. Maybe it was a dream. She would wake up in her bed like she did this morning. All would be well.

_"It's not meant for you."_

She listened to the sounds of battle, the sound of weapons thrown and deflected, jutsus being cast, smoke, logs and jeers. Then it was silent. She opened her eyes again to see herself, her teeth lodged firmly into her opponent's arm. The man raised his fist and she flinched as it hit her younger self on the head...again and again. Her own head began to pound as she watched the scene helplessly. She felt the pain and her fists tightened. She checked her head to see if it was bleeding, but only felt a thin layer of sweat.

"Please, no more," she whispered and turned around altogether, trying to block out the images.

"...Sakura-san?"

Her eyes widened and she looked back to see Rock Lee, a lot older than the boy she'd just seen. She hoped to God he was real and not some realistic memory because she couldn't take anymore past drama.

"Are you alright, Sakura-san?" He looked at her in concern.

"Lee... You really do come whenever I'm in trouble don't you?" She said in relief.

"I will always appear, anytime and anywhere you are in trouble, Sakura." He stood taller and saluted.

Sakura smiled. This guy was a little weird, but he reminded her of Naruto and with that thought she felt safe again – she knew he was her friend and from that vision, memory, whatever it was, she knew he was a good friend.

Lee held out his hand to her. "May I ask what you're doing in the Forest of Death?"

She accepted the offer and he pulled her to her feet. She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly and smiled. "It's a bit silly really. I was looking for danger because I thought it would help me learn to use chakra again."

"That's my Sakura!" he shouted enthusiastically. "Always pushing yourself to the limits through training! Your level of effort is a true inspiration!"

She was surprised. She expected him to be angry at her. She just admitted she was seeking out danger. Everyone else would surely scold her for that.

"Are you training too?" she asked.

"No, I was merely here to ensure your safety," he admitted.

She was even more surprised. She frowned slightly. "How did you know I was here?"

"Lady Tsunade ordered me to come and protect you, but stay back until I was needed."

Her frown increased. "How did she know I was here? She told me she wouldn't have me followed anymore."

"Naruto-san requested it."

So Naruto did know... He was protecting her even when he physically wasn't there. She shook her head. She wasn't surprised. Still, she wished he was here right now, just to convince her that she wasn't going crazy.

"Well I didn't succeed, Lee, I can't use chakra." She lowered her head.

"I cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu, I purely use taijutsu," Lee replied.

Her eyes widened and she looked back up at him. "But you're a great ninja."

Extending out his arm, he gave her a thumbs up and grinned. "And so are you, Sakura-san. I have no doubt that you will learn to use chakra again."

"You really think so?" she mumbled. "What about remembering what I've forgotten after my amnesia?"

"You will remember!" He shouted with enthusiasm that made her think he truly believed it.

She hoped he was right.

"Sometimes I find that not wanting something that you want helps you get it!" he told her.

She looked at him, confused, before smiling. "As much as I'd loved to forget about trying to be a ninja and medic again, I wouldn't want to risk waiting on just waking up one morning and remembering everything. I want to get back my abilities more than anything."

"I understand." He nodded politely.

"Really?" she asked, surprised.

"During the Chunin exams, my arm and leg were completely crushed. I was told I would never be a ninja again," Lee told her.

"I'm so sorry." Her eyes widened.

"No need to be sorry, my friend!" He grinned. "Lady Tsunade performed an operation to repair my injuries. Even with the high chance of death, I knew I wanted to take the risk and it was successful."

That was very inspiring. She wished she had that option... Have some operation to just remember what she had lost, even if it could possibly kill her. She was very glad Lee was here, more than anyone, right now he understood her – that deep sadness and need that she felt, the longing to be a ninja again more than anything. It wasn't just memories she had lost, it was a big part of her life.

"You certainly cheered me up after the surgery, Sakura-san!" he added.

And she'd also lost even more memories that she couldn't remember, that Kakashi or Sasuke couldn't show her through some kind of genjutsu... Lee and all of these other people that came to see her in the hospital, what memories had she shared with them that she could no longer remember? Did they miss her?

"Do you think I'm different, Lee? To how I was before my injury?" She dreaded the answer.

"You are still the most beautiful kunoichi there is to see! You are incredible!" Lee answered with wild hand gestures.

"Umm...thanks." She smiled awkwardly.

There was a small silence where she felt slightly uneasy, but Lee didn't look put off by it - he stood there, like he was reading to spring into action at any second.

"Can I ask a favour?" Sakura asked, trying to sound polite.

"Of course! I will do anything for you!" Lee grinned.

"Can you take me to the centre of the forest?"

Lee looked confused before he questioned, "Do you not want to leave?"

"I really want to leave, but I came all this way to try something. I may as well still give it a go." She shrugged, hoping he wouldn't change his mind when she still planned to put herself in danger.

"Let's go!" Lee announced, pointing in the air before beginning to run deeper into the forest.

Sakura stood there, watching as he disappeared in seconds.

Then he came back. "Are we not running?"

"Umm, no, I can't really... Can we walk?" she asked awkwardly.

"Walking..." Lee repeated, as if testing the word like it was unusual to him. "Very well! We shall walk!"

Sakura smiled. This time she walked with him as they headed towards the centre tower together.

* * *

><p>Lee agreed to walk with her, but she found it amusing, he looked like he was itching to run – she bet he never travelled so slowly anywhere. She was sure if she requested, he'd carry her, but she felt uncomfortable asking something like that. He seemed to really like her but she wondered if he acted like this towards everyone, he was a nice guy.<p>

When she saw the tower in sight, she wasted no time, she sprinted towards it and Lee kept up with ease.

The tower in the centre was huge. She originally thought that she wouldn't get to her destination - that she would find danger before that and be forced to scale a tree or something... Walking up buildings would require the same use of chakra as walking up trees. She walked forward and felt the wall underneath her hand. "Can you get to the top through the inside?" she asked.

Lee nodded. "Yes, although we technically should not be entering the tower."

"You said you'd do anything for me?" She gave him a teasing smile.

Lee nodded again.

"Want to go inside and climb to the top with me?" she asked.

"What do you plan to do at the top, Sakura-san?"

"Jump off," she admitted. "Force myself to have to use chakra to hold onto the walls and stop myself from falling."

Lee looked at her thoughtfully. "You currently cannot use chakra at all? What if it does not come back to you at that moment?"

"Ummm..." She glanced around the tower, coming up with a plan on the spot and hoping she could convincingly sell it. "Well then I'd fall in the river..."

She'd very likely hit parts of the tower on the way down and if she didn't land right... She could die.

Lee frowned up at the tower, as if figuring that out himself.

"Will you at least accompany me to the top?" she pleaded. "It'll be a challenge."

"A challenge! A race to the top!" Lee shouted enthusiastically before running into the tower, pushing open the front doors with force.

She ran after him, knowing she'd lose him in seconds if she didn't keep up. If that happened, she wouldn't know the 'easy' way to the top of the tower.

* * *

><p>She was surprised at how little the climb wore her out, she was fairly fit regardless of the small amount of exercise she'd done since the onset of her amnesia. There were a lot of stairs to run up.<p>

When she reached the top, she walked through an open door, immediately feeling the breeze of the open air. She smiled and walked closer to the edge, looking out across the top of the trees – for a Forest of Death, from here, it was kind of pretty, a sea of green trees and a river extending both sides of the tower.

"Do you want to race again?" Lee grinned.

"No thanks." She laughed.

Then she looked down and swallowed. From how the tower was shaped in a cone-like manner, she'd hit lower roofs several times if she jumped off, which looked pretty painful. Did she have to be in life threatening danger to unlock her abilities? She sighed.

This wouldn't work. She'd just hurt herself trying.

"We may as well go home now, Lee." She turned around and smiled, but then her eyes widened as she misplaced her foot. She slipped backwards off the side of the slanted roof and she found herself falling. She desperately made a grab for the edge but missed with both hands. She was going to hit the next part of the sticking out tower and fall down to the next level for sure. She closed her eyes tightly.

Lee caught her shortly before she hit the building. He then expertly jumped down the different levels of the infrastructure until they were back on the forest floor. He placed her down on her feet again.

"Thanks," she mumbled. "Sorry about that."

"No problem, Sakura-san!" Lee grinned. "Do you want to head back to see Lady Tsunade now?"

Sakura swallowed. "Do we have to see her?"

"Those were my orders." Lee nodded before adding, "You've also scratched your arms during your fall."

She looked at her wrists and frowned. He was right. Still, she didn't fancy seeing her mentor after she'd broken into the Forest of Death without permission. She was also covered in dirt, probably from lying on the floor earlier on.

Frustration filled her again. She knew no more than when she entered the forest. But what about that freaky vision thing? She could tell Tsunade about that, justify her means for entering the forest – and anyway! Tsunade already knew what she was up to and didn't try and stop her altogether, so what was that about?

"Well thanks for helping me out anyway, Lee-san." She smiled. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

"It was my pleasure, Sakura-san! We must train together again sometime!"

"Sure. I'd love to do something with you."

His eyes widened and he asked, "Like a date?"

"Uhh..."

Lee turned away from her and she paused, confused.

"I can't believe it!" he spoke to himself.

Was he..._crying?_ She carefully placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "I'm sorry, Lee, I didn't mean to offend you. No I didn't mean like a date."

He turned back around to face her, confirming he had been crying...tears of joy? Did he really think she was asking him on date just then?

"You don't want to go on a date with me?" he asked.

"Ummm." She smiled weakly. "I was thinking more of a training session together... Naruto has sort of been like a teacher to me after this amnesia thing."

"I see." Lee nodded before announcing, "I can teach you, Sakura-san! Let us run to the end of the forest!"

When Lee ran off again, Sakura laughed and shook her head. This guy certainly bounced back quickly... Did he ever run out of energy? She was going to guess 'no'.

* * *

><p>When they reached the Hokage Tower, Sakura self-consciously slowed down, already anticipating a repeat of her last meeting with the sannin. She did not fancy going through another wall, venting her anger wasn't worth it.<p>

"Are you sure she requested me?" she asked nervously.

Lee nodded.

Crap. She wasn't feeling as brave as the last time she faced the Hokage, so she took a deep breath before knocking and entering her mentor's office. She gave Tsunade a big smile. "Afternoon, Tsunade-shishou."

"Sakura." Tsunade looked up, but kept a very blank face.

Sakura swallowed.

"Mission complete, Tsunade-sama!" Lee saluted.

"Yeah, the mission went great..." Sakura added awkwardly.

"And what would that mission be Sakura?" The Hokage hummed.

"Fetching me to come and see you..."

"If you put yourself in life threatening danger," Tsunade finished.

Sakura didn't answer.

"Thank you, Lee, you can leave," Tsunade ordered.

"Right away, Tsunade-sama." Lee bowed respectfully before looking at her.

"I'll see you later, Lee, thanks again." Sakura smiled.

"See you soon, Sakura-san." Lee grinned back, before exiting the room, still with an enthusiastic spring in his step.

"That guy does not stop moving." Sakura shook her head.

Tsunade smirked before asking, "Cheating on Naruto?"

Not sure what her mentor was implying, Sakura's eyes widened. "Huh?"

"Replacing him as a teacher," the sannin elaborated.

"Oh..." Sakura coughed.

Tsunade's smirk widened. "You two are friendly towards each other."

Sakura raised an eyebrow."He's a nice guy, a little weird but...he saved my life twice. I have no reason to disrespect him."

Tsunade frowned. "He's had to save your life twice today?"

"No, once today," Sakura took a deep breath, prepared to explain her horrible nightmare and... vision thing. "You see..."

* * *

><p>Tsunade listened very carefully as her apprentice explained the events that had taken place recently, watching how Sakura's facial expressions changed, as well as the tone of her voice.<p>

"Am I going crazy?" Sakura asked. "It was practically a hallucination..."

"It sounds like a memory to me, Sakura, but I cannot be sure. I did not see these events take place." Tsunade hummed.

"The snake guy sent his henchmen after Sasuke in the Chunin exams?" Sakura asked. "Surely you'd know that?"

"Orochimaru did infiltrate your Chunin exams, yes."

"He was a real creep." Sakura frowned.

"He was my teammate," Tsunade admitted.

"Oh...sorry," Sakura smiled apologetically. "How unfortunate."

Tsunade hummed before adding, "He's dead now anyway."

"Sorry," Sakura repeated.

Tsunade was silent, and then she smiled. "He was evil in the end."

"But he was still your teammate. Sasuke's currently evil and I still care."

"Really? Has seeing Sasuke in this 'memory' changed your feelings towards him?" she questioned.

"Yes, he was my friend."

"Just a friend?" The Hokage questioned curiously.

Sakura frowned. "Yes, but I'm still confused about the cause of this memory thing. At first I thought it was danger, but was this situational remembering? Remembering about the Forest of Death whilst in it? Or was it still danger?"

"I don't think it's danger or affected by the situation you are in," Tsunade replied.

Sakura sighed.

"Look, Sakura, I'm not going to scold you for entering the Forest of Death-"

"Because you let me in?" Sakura questioned. "Naruto warned you. He knew I knew about the fence. You could have popped out and scared me to death, heck that would have been just as dangerous."

Tsunade frowned.

"I'm not trying to anger you," Sakura added before pointing at the wall behind her. "That looks exactly like it did before I went through it."

Tsunade smiled. "The plasterer has had lots of practice."

"I'm sure." Sakura hummed.

"Either way," Tsunade sat up a little straighter, "I wouldn't be surprised if you wanted to go through the wall... Seeking out danger, how reckless and desperate can you get?"

"I'm very desperate," Sakura replied seriously. "I want nothing more than to be my old self."

Tsunade smiled sympathetically. "You certainly look the part."

Sakura looked down at her gloves hands before clenching her fist and looking back up. "I don't feel the part and I highly doubt I act it either."

"When you came stomping up the corridor yesterday, I almost thought you'd got your memories back... Your personality is still there, Sakura. Saying that, you were never quite so confident, you know when to be respectful and you know when to run, especially when we're in this office and not on the training fields." Tsunade smirked. "But without your memories I guess you don't know just how scary I could be."

"Well I hope those scary memories don't come back like the Forest of Death ones, now _that's _scary," Sakura mumbled.

"If you could get your memories back or you abilities, which would it be?"

Sakura was silent for a moment before she replied, "My abilities. I want to help people. Besides, if my memories come back like the last ones, so realistic... I don't think I could take it."

"Even if they were happy memories?"

Sakura frowned in thought.

"If instead of fear and pain, you were filled with happiness?" Tsunade asked.

"How can I be happy if I remember healing someone and that I can never do that again?"

"...Still, you want your memories back?"

"More than anything." Sakura shrugged. "But without my abilities, I'd just feel useless... Why? Can you perform some kind of surgery to get my memories back?"

Tsunade smirked. "No. Why do you think that?"

"You performed surgery on Lee... Even with a high chance of death," Sakura replied.

Tsunade nodded. "But it's not possible for your condition, it's completely different."

"Can you punch me off a cliff or something?" Sakura asked.

"You're still danger hunting?" Tsunade frowned.

Sakura nodded. "Yes. Although today I'm beginning to question whether I was in danger at all until I fell off that roof. Even then, Lee was there to save me and I may have got lucky from that fall... But Naruto said the forest was full of man-eating animals, I saw none."

"I'm sure Lee had fun moving them." Tsunade smiled. "Anything dangerous en-route from Gate 44 to the tower was moved or suppressed if it could be."

"No wonder I didn't get any of my abilities back," Sakura grumbled.

"What were you thinking about before you got this flashback? Both today and last night?" She questioned.

Sakura thought about it before answering, "The pros and the cons of entering the forest... Then I guess when I was in there, I was thinking about how I felt not remembering, all the people I was letting down."

Tsunade sighed. "First things first... You have a nightmare about going into the Forest of Death, where you knew it only held bad memories, yet did not see it as a warning?"

"I thought that by getting a memory back, it meant go there and I'd remember more," Sakura mumbled.

Tsunade smiled and shook her head. "Well, you weren't in danger in your sleep were you?"

Sakura frowned. "But it's like you said... I was dreaming about going into the Forest of Death, which would be dangerous..."

Tsunade got up and sighed. "I'll prove it's not danger."

* * *

><p>The pair headed down to what looked like research labs. Sakura followed her mentor, very interested in what the sannin was going to do.<p>

Prove it's not danger? That sounded dangerous.

She watched as the older medic got out herbs and equipment with practiced efficiency.

Sakura raised an eyebrow as Tsunade then filled a syringe with a liquid before holding it out to her and ordering, "Inject this."

She slowly took the syringe, she studied it before doing what she was told and asking, "What is it?"

"Poison," Tsunade replied blankly. "In front of you is a mixture of herbs, as well as samples of the poison you were just injected with. A combination of these herbs will create a perfect antidote to cure it. It's a fast working poison but it has a simple antidote. This is only simple if you have knowledge of the poison though, but you have this knowledge. You have ten minutes at most to find the antidote."

"Or what?" Sakura asked in slight shock.

"You'll die."

Sakura's eyes widened. What? Tsunade wouldn't do that to her surely? Let her _die_.

"Anyone knows who my apprentice is when they see her countering poisons. You had a natural talent for it," Tsunade added sadly.

Sakura looked at the herbs and equipment on the table in front of her before looking at her mentor, panic in her eyes. "But you said I lose the skills I'm most talented at. I've never seen any of these plants before. I have no idea what I do."

Tsunade turned away. "Well then you had better hope danger is the key to bringing back your memories. You're different, Sakura, you're not the same girl that is my apprentice anymore; I want her back, not you. If this is the only way to succeed, I will try. You have ten minutes before you lose consciousness."

As the Hokage left the room, Sakura's panic increased. So nobody was going to save her if she failed? She could be dead in less than ten minutes.

She really hoped danger was the key to unlocking her memories, or she'd never find out what was.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

When I was first writing this, my mood seemed to be pushing this towards a sort of horror/dark chapter. I seem to be writing that a lot more recently - the last thing I uploaded was a second chapter to 'Forehead Girl' and a part of that felt like I was writing some kind of horror XD I don't usually write things like that, but it was interesting :D.

I actually spent hours writing this chapter – for some reason, I found it hard to write, perhaps because the memory scene is actual quotes from the Forest of Death episodes. I think Lee is easier to write in a non-serious scene, so he has a small part in the next chapter that is much more light-hearted. I wasn't really happy with how this turned out, but in the end, decided not to change it.

Sorry for the slightly later update and cliff hanger sort of ending but the next chapter will be up tomorrow :). I've enjoyed reading and discussing with some of you about your predictions for what is going to happen, so that's been interesting and enjoyable :D thanks for all the feedback you've given me so far.

Thanks for reading!


	13. Ten Minutes to Live

**Amnesia**

Chapter 13: Ten Minutes to Live

* * *

><p>After two minutes, Sakura was still staring hopelessly at the table of ingredients. <em>I'm going to die,<em> she thought, _come on stupid brain, help me out here, I'm in life threatening danger._

"All right, you proved it," Sakura spoke aloud. "Tsunade-shishou, you were right, danger doesn't help me unlock my memories. I can't do this, I... I don't know what any of this stuff does."

She swallowed and looked down at the poison in a jar in front of her. She picked it up to study it closer. It was a light purple, like nothing she had seen before. She undid the lid and picked up a syringe, extracting some of it, she then squirted it on a Petri dish. It was thicker than she would have expected it to be. Was that a good thing? She had no idea. Tsunade said it had a simple antidote - if you had the knowledge of it.

Well... She'd just have to mix the grass with the leaves... And then pour it on the purple stuff and see if it did anything. She sighed. This was useless. There was a pestle and mortar... Was she supposed to grind herbs up or something? A lot or just a little? Some of the ingredients or all of the ingredients? She was finding it hard to believe that at one point in her life, she had a knack for this stuff. She was starting to assume that everything these people have been telling her was just made up lies. Maybe she was just some science experiment, not a ninja or a medic.

No. She shook her head. She wasn't going to spend the last ten minutes of her life questioning her existence and those she cared about the most. Naruto wouldn't lie to her. Ino... Ino _would_ lie to her, but she'd hope not on something as important as her entire life story. Then again, it was Ino... She smiled and shook her head. It had been an interesting last few weeks that was for sure, dramatic, fun, scary, very confusing. According to everyone, she'd already done a lot for this place... If that were true, then she had no shame in dying right now.

Regrets? The last thing she did concerning Naruto was do the opposite of what he wanted her to... Before that she told him she just wanted to be his friend... She didn't want their last interaction to be that... He told her to be safe. She couldn't even accomplish that.

Technically, this was Tsunade's fault. Would her mentor really kill her? As the clock ticked down, she was expecting the sannin to jump in the room and laugh - for it all to be a joke, punishment for entering the Forest of Death. Why save her there just to leave her to die now? Maybe Tsunade had given up because she'd been disappointment after disappointment.

_Well then you had better hope danger is the key to bringing back your memories. You're different, Sakura, you're not the same girl that is my apprentice anymore; I want her back, not you. If this is the only way to succeed, I will try. You have ten minutes before you lose consciousness._

Not the same girl... She was just a shell of her former self. Why bother trying?

_You're a popular medic ninja with extreme strength, everyone loves and respects you, you have tons of friends and you're the prettiest girl in the world._

She smiled at the thought of some of the things Naruto had said to her... She wished she'd said something similar back to him, explained her true feelings, not her first instincts and how she felt towards him after feeling like she'd only just met him. But how she felt when she_ knew_ him. He wouldn't expect her to sit here and wait to die, her friends would expect her to at least try and save herself.

Looking back at the ingredients, she stared again, hoping some kind of brainwave hit her. She couldn't even name these plants. She frowned before looking up at the clock.

She only had four minutes to save her life.

She looked around the room before walking towards the cupboards that Tsunade had got the herbs from. She knelt down and found several trays of herbs. She smirked when they were all labelled. She searched for something familiar. '_Black Cohosh'_ was one of them. She'd read something about that. Was it linked to poison? Maybe. If only she had read a book on herbs already - she owned plenty, but at the time that didn't interest her as much as the other books.

She walked back to the table of plants and herbs to find Black Cohosh was also in the selection of possible ingredients. She picked it up and studied it. It wouldn't work on its own surely, she'd have to mix it with something. She sighed and placed it back down.

Sakura looked around the room again, she was cheating really, looking for something that might give her the answer. On the far side of the lab was a book, interest peaked, she briskly walked over and picked it up.

_'Konoha's List of Herbs and Cures'_

She smirked and opened it quickly. Surely this would identify the poison and antidote she needed. Why would it be left in the lab? OK... Probably so medics could use it, but she doubted Tsunade wanted her to see it.

Her eyes widened as she turned the pages and found her own handwriting. She flicked through more pages, some had a mixture of other people's writing too, but on some pages it was all her. She found Shizune's name a lot, as well as Tsunade's. In fact, this book looked quite old.

At least she could cure herself now. But when Sakura looked up, her breath hitched, the second hand of the clock confirmed she had ten seconds to live... She didn't feel any different, she was fine. Still, the panic returned.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

She shut her eyes, expecting to suddenly feel pain and drop dead, yet the clock kept ticking. It was the only sound in the room, loud and never wavering. Time kept going and she kept living.

She opened her eyes slowly and watched the second hand tick, before looking at the lab door as if to say _'Well? Is this some kind of joke?'__  
><em>  
>Nobody entered the room and she returned to the table of ingredients. She pulled up a lab chair and began to flick through the book, scanning the descriptions for this poison. She smiled to herself. She didn't need her memories; she had a brain and could work through this logically.<p>

Still, she kept glancing at the clock.

Eleven minutes.

Twelve minutes.

Then, Sakura's smile fell. Her vision began to sway slightly and the words on the book pages crossed over and became a blur, she dropped it, unable to look at it anymore. The plants on the tables were not much better; they merged together into nothing but blocks of colour. She became drowsy, dizzy, the room began to spin.

In a desperate attempt to do something, Sakura grabbed at where she thought the Black Cohosh was, feeling its leaves between her fingers. Then her hands slipped to the edge of the table. She gripped it, closing her eyes tightly.

_She didn't want to die. She felt like she'd barely lived_.

* * *

><p>Tsunade watched as her apprentice slipped off the chair onto the floor and then the older medic sighed.<p>

"That was cruel, Lady Tsunade." Shizune frowned. "Making her believe that. I know you want her back, we all do, but worrying her like that surely won't help."

She snorted. "Do you actually think she believed I'd do something to kill her?"

"You're a convincing actress."

Tsunade sighed again as the younger medic entered the labs and headed towards her apprentice. Maybe Shizune was right... Maybe Sakura wasn't the only one getting desperate. She was about to turn away, when Shizune called to her.

"Lady Tsunade, I think you'd better see this."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and entered the labs. She looked at her apprentice before muttering, "What?"

"She's using medical chakra!" Shizune exclaimed.

She was indeed, Sakura's hands were glowing a faint green, the scratches up her arms were slowly healing.

"And? We knew she'd healed herself in her sleep before."

"We _assumed_ she healed herself before, this is proof, this is good," Shizune insisted.

"It's still not going to help her whilst conscious." She frowned.

"But it's not a bad thing," Shizune pointed out.

"Get her to a hospital room," Tsunade ordered. "Give her something so that she wakes up from the sleeping drug sooner."

Shizune sighed but nodded. "Right away, Tsunade-sama."

"I'll carry her there." Tsunade grumbled. "You make the antidote."

"I wonder if she would have got it with a bit more time." Shizune picked up the book that was open on the floor.

"She was looking for poison cures, she wouldn't find it." Tsunade shrugged before looking at her apprentice. "She's going to want to read that book now, isn't she?"

"I assume so." Shizune smiled as she reached for the necessary ingredients to counter the sleeping drug.

* * *

><p>As Shizune administered the antidote in the hospital room, she stated, "We could have let her wake up naturally, it would have been broken down harmlessly in the system."<p>

"I have work to do. I don't have time to wait all day." Tsunade hummed.

"I think you both need a bit of patience and positivity." Shizune smiled and placed the book that Sakura had been reading on the bed.

"That's not supposed to be out of the labs." She frowned.

"Come on, Tsunade-sama, there's no harm in her having it, she enjoys reading. It's not like it will be missed for a while. If there's not some kind of pandemic or a new poison about, you won't find anyone else but the three of us in the labs."

There was a small silence before Tsunade asked, "What effect do you think ECT will have?"

Shizune raised an eyebrow. "On Sakura?"

"Yes."

"She's not depressed. Electroconvulsive therapy isn't a treatment that's used on an amnesiac."

"It has interesting effects on the brain..."

"It causes short term memory loss." Shizune frowned. "It's an experimental therapy. You can't use it on Sakura. You don't know what will happen."

"But the patients usually get their memories back," Tsunade pointed out. "Perhaps Inoichi could look at her brain again."

"You've been testing and following everything else about her, we should have conducted more tests on her brain activity," Shizune mumbled.

"I know." Tsunade frowned.

"Still, we can't do anything that might affect her negatively-"

"I know," she repeated.

It was very true. All the things Shizune said about today. It was annoying. She wished she could do more, but ultimately there was no cure for amnesia and it affected everyone differently.

"Slowly and gradually, Sakura has been showing signs of improvement, personality wise, skill wise, and now even memory wise. Although it has seemed random and both well and poorly timed, we can only hope that one day it will all come back to her."

"Just like that? It seems unlikely considering she's already shown signs of fighting it." Tsunade hummed.

"Of course she's fighting it." Shizune smiled. "It's Sakura, but she's effectively fighting herself."

"It's her body versus her mind," Tsunade stated.

"And her heart," Shizune added with a smile.

"I think I've been going about this all wrong." Tsunade realised.

"Making Sakura believe she was going to die was a bit of a desperate move. Are you going to apologise for that?" Shizune asked.

Tsunade frowned. "I was disproving her danger theory. Ultimately I'm preventing her from getting hurt."

"And letting her go into the Forest of Death?"

"...I was curious, I'm just trying to make a sure cause and effect link here between events happening and Sakura recovering temporary abilities or memories."

"Naruto's also been going on some well-placed missions."

"He wouldn't allow her to enter the forest." Tsunade shrugged. "I've also been studying the difference between him being here and not. Up until this flashback, Naruto has been involved in all of the recovery events."

"No wonder your paperwork has suffered, you've been spending all your time concentrating on this." Shizune smiled before standing up and heading towards the door.

"My paperwork has suffered because my apprentice hasn't been doing any," Tsunade replied dryly.

"That too." Shizune laughed, but then she paused in the doorway. "Just don't overcomplicate this Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade sighed for what must have been the tenth time that day. She picked up the book Shizune had left and began reading it while she waited for Sakura to wake up.

She smiled. Sakura had added a hell of a lot of information to it since the last time she read it. Not that that was too surprising.

* * *

><p>Sakura awoke slowly, she mumbled, "Am I dead?"<p>

"Nope, alive and here with me, unlucky."

Sakura opened her eyes to pout slightly at her mentor. "It's not nice to poison your apprentice."

"I didn't." Tsunade shrugged. "It was just a drug to knock you out. You didn't think I'd actually kill you, right?"

"Yes, because I'm not the same as I was and not your apprentice if I can't find antidotes," Sakura replied.

The sannin sighed. "I had to say something to make you believe you'd die. Otherwise I wouldn't be disproving your danger theory."

Sakura thought about it before asking, "So we're back to square one. We don't know why I get my abilities back temporarily?"

"I wouldn't say we're at square one, we've ruled out a response to danger. I now find myself wishing I'd poisoned someone else and got you to try and find the antidote then," Tsunade admitted.

"Why?" Sakura frowned. "That's not very nice."

Tsunade smiled. "Because as good as you are at surviving, you're lousy at taking care of yourself when someone else needs you. Your survival instincts are sharp, but you'll pick the moral high ground, even if it could possibly hurt you. You'd work overtime, morning and night, if it meant ensuring saving a patient's life."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Who wouldn't?"

"You'd be surprised." The Hokage hummed. "It's easy to pass the job onto another medic. It's easy to leave the work until the next day."

"What does this have to do with my amnesia?"

"You're a stubborn girl, a stubborn medic and a fierce friend," Tsunade began. "No matter what condition you were in, you wouldn't allow a patient to die on your watch. You'd try your best even if it was inevitable they would die. You have an obscure sense of morality when it comes to protecting others, especially your friends. It didn't matter that you couldn't physically remember how to heal. You wouldn't let even brain damage prevent you from saving Naruto's life, no matter how much stress or strain that could have put on yourself medically."

"So instead of jumping off cliffs I need to push other people off cliffs in order to save them?" Sakura grinned.

"You wouldn't take that chance." Tsunade shrugged.

Sakura sighed. "I know...but your explanation only explains how I healed Naruto."

"I'm sure you believed strongly in bringing Sasuke back," Tsunade mumbled. "Something stirred up enough emotion in you when you barged into my office and as you went trudging through the Forest of Death."

"...Naruto," Sakura voiced her thought aloud.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"If you're really telling me something as corny as my love for other people brings back my memories, what do you expect? Me to go around Konoha dating every guy I see?" Sakura grumbled.

Tsunade smirked. "That's exactly what I'm telling you."

Sakura was not amused.

"All right, that's not what I'm trying to say." Tsunade laughed. "I'm just saying that when you get so emotionally flustered or are morally challenged, it seems to cause a response. Mentally, you're not giving up either because of the fact that you heal yourself in your sleep and use medical chakra, which I assume is connected with REM sleep. When you dream, there's a part of you unconsciously fighting for you to remember all the time."

Sakura nodded slowly. "I could get my memories back through dreaming?"

"Maybe some, but it's unlikely you dream ten years of your life over the course of a few nights." Tsunade shrugged.

"Even then, if I somehow get my memories back over the years through lucid dreaming, what about my abilities? How do I morally and emotionally challenge myself permanently?" Sakura questioned desperately.

Tsunade shook her head. "I'm sorry, Sakura, I do not know, but the fact that your memories are possibly obtainable, surely that is better than nothing?"

"I guess," Sakura mumbled.

"If you had your memories you would know me a lot better." Tsunade snorted. "You would have been able to sit and discuss this with me for hours on end. We've grown to work well together over the years, as well as with Shizune... You would have known I would never poison you and you would have known that you injected yourself with a knockout drug, as well as how to counter it, along with every other drug in that God damn book you've been working on for years. With your memories, abilities or not, you're still one hell of a medic."

That was true... If she just had her memories she could still do things like bandage people up and treat poisons, prescribe medicine... She could still be some kind of asset to her friends, who she would be much closer to. She smiled at her teacher, feeling a sudden wave of affection. "Thanks, shishou."

"And you'd be able to do my paperwork," Tsunade added.

Sakura laughed. "Sounds fun."

"Remember paperwork skills soon then okay? You can get back into doing it for me," Tsunade replied seriously.

"That'll be the first thing on my unconscious memory desire list." Sakura nodded, grinning.

"I should hope so, after all this help I'm giving you." Tsunade frowned.

"You have a weird way of helping."

"Don't complain."

"I wasn't, heck, if it might help me get my memories back, I'll try experimental surgery." Sakura shrugged.

Tsunade was silent for a moment before she said, "Would you be up for some mental tests then?"

"Sure." Sakura nodded enthusiastically.

"Nothing dangerous," Tsunade reassured her.

"Good... Morally challenging and heavy emotionally traumatic though?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not." Tsunade smiled.

"Darn." Sakura grumbled.

"Naruto is expected back today by the way." Tsunade stood up.

"That was quick." Sakura's eyes widened.

"It was only a short mission." Tsunade shrugged.

"That's good. I think I made things awkward between us, I should probably clear that up..."

The sannin shook her head, unsurprised.

"All this time, I've been trying to avoid any feelings I had for him to concentrate on trying to get my memory back... When I would have likely done better if I'd just accepted my emotions?" Sakura questioned.

"Sure."

"Think he can help me remember things?" Sakura mumbled.

"Try it." Tsunade shrugged.

"You don't sound too sure." Sakura frowned slightly.

"Just done overcomplicate things, Sakura." Tsunade smiled. "Try whatever you want, but don't be disheartened. It's not exactly a loss. You'll be enjoying time with Naruto anyway right?"

"It does feel like a loss sometimes though." Sakura frowned. "Being with him and not knowing what I want to is the most frustrating thing. It's like my memories are right there, but they're intangible. I feel the same when you tell me I can't do something. Everyone else tells me I'm the same, or that I can do this, Ino even tells me I'm better now, but you tell me I'm different and that I can't..."

"As a medic who understands your condition, I know just how unlikely it is that you can do it." Tsunade headed for the door.

"But do you really believe I can't?" Sakura frowned. "That also frustrates me. I want to prove you wrong."

Tsunade smiled, with her back facing away from her pink haired apprentice, she replied blankly, "Good luck with that."

"Wait, shishou."

"What?" Tsunade looked back.

"You said I'd last a maximum of ten minutes before I passed out, but it was over twelve minutes, why was that?" Sakura questioned.

"Perhaps you were unconsciously fighting the drug." Tsunade smiled sweetly.

"Really?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"I may have also injected you with it before, so there may have been some naturally immunity you built up."

Sakura shook her head, unsurprised, before she asked, "What did I do to make you knock me out?"

"Nothing." The sannin shrugged. "It was just a test."

"Did I pass?"

"Yes, you found the antidote in two minutes, twenty-five seconds," Tsunade answered.

"How long ago was that?"

"Three years."

"You still remember the time it took me?" Sakura's eyes widened.

"Yes," Tsunade replied before leaving the room.

When the Hokage had gone, Sakura stared out the window, trying to sort it all out in her mind. It was so complicated it gave her a headache.

She looked back on her bed and picked up the book she found there. This was the herb book... She didn't really need to be in this hospital room, but she had nowhere else she had to be. She opened the book and began reading it, interested but annoyed at the same time. She was trying to envision herself writing these notes - in a lab, discovering these antidotes.

She closed her eyes and sleep eventually took her.

When she opened her eyes, she found Lee was sat on the stool by her bedside. He looked at her in concern. "Are you all right, Sakura-san?"

"I'm fine, Lee." She smiled and rubbed her eyes, trying to remember if she'd dreamt of anything.

"I brought you this." Lee held up something green.

Her eyes widened. "What...is it?"

"A uniform like mine." He grinned. "It will drastically improve your performance in training!"

She studied the green jumpsuit before awkwardly answering, "Really?"

"Yes!" Lee insisted. "If you wear this when we train together, you will unlock your abilities in no time!"

"Umm," she mumbled. "That's a very kind offer, Lee, but you don't have to give me one of your outfits..."

"Nonsense! This is specifically designed for you! Gai-sensei tried to give it you years ago but you would not accept it," Lee answered.

"I wonder why," she replied with a small smile.

"I dare say it was because of your kind and humble nature! Not accepting free gifts off others," Lee explained enthusiastically.

"Oh yes, certainly, I don't accept free things. I just couldn't take that off you."

"I insist! It would be an honour to match you on the training fields!" Lee stuck his thumb up and added, "We will show Konoha what our youth is made of!"

Just then, the door opened and Naruto walked in, pausing when he saw them.

Sakura sighed in relief, giving him a big smile, she greeted her friend, "Naruto! Welcome back."

"Granny said you were cheating on me." Naruto pouted. "How can you do this to me, Sakura-chan?! I thought you said I was a good teacher."

"You don't understand." Sakura shook her head. "I didn't ask for this. I don't want a green jumpsuit."

"You don't?" Lee looked at her, confused.

She looked in between the two males before sighing. "No, Lee, it was very kind offer and I appreciate it but...that wouldn't suit me."

"I think it's very flattering attire," Lee replied.

"Well it suits you." Sakura nodded enthusiastically.

Naruto snickered to himself at her situation and she shot him an annoyed look.

"Naruto has one," Lee added.

"Does he?" Sakura grinned. "I'd like to see that."

Naruto frowned. "Did have one, Jiraiya got me to throw it out years ago."

"I don't understand," Lee mumbled.

"Oh, Lee, I'm sure he just outgrew it is all." Sakura placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I see, so he needs another!" Lee stood up.

"No I don't." Naruto shook his head.

"Do not worry, my friend! I'll have you back in the ultimate training gear in no time!" Lee announced loudly.

"No, it's okay, really," Naruto insisted.

"We can train again together later, Sakura-san!" Lee added before running to the door. "See you both soon."

When Lee had gone, Naruto pouted. "Thanks, Sakura-chan..."

Sakura giggled. "What? I think you'd look good in a Lee-suit."

Naruto's pout increased.

"How'd your mission go?" she asked.

Naruto shrugged and walked towards her, taking up the stool Lee had been sat on, he replied, "It was so easy it bores me to think of it."

"At least you weren't in any danger." She smiled at him.

"And I come back to find you in a hospital bed," he said with a frown.

"About that..." she trailed off.

"You told me you'd be safe," he added.

"A lot has happened in the short time you've been away." Sakura sighed. "Please let me explain."

Naruto nodded. "I'm listening."

"Well..."

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

Thanks for your continued feedback :).

Thank you. Salamat sa inyo. Gracias. Grazie. 감사합니다. Danke. Obrigado. Mulţumesc. Terima kasih. ありがとうございます。Dziękuję. Hvala. Tack. शुक्रिया. Děkuju. Хвала. Hvala Vam. 谢谢。ډېره مننه. Благодаря. Teşekkür ederim. شكرا لك. Dank u. Tak. Takk. Спасибо. ඉස්තුති. Kiitos. Merci. Ви благодариме. Kob kun. Köszönöm.

According to 's Break down by Visitor Country, that should cover the languages of everyone reading things :D. It's interesting to see just where you all are. You're mainly Americans :D.

'Black Cohosh' is the first herb I found that was apparently linked to poisons. I spent ages just looking for something in some kind of poison antidote to make it slightly realistic, because I know nothing about plants. ECT is Electroconvulsive Therapy, that I looked at in Psychology, it's used to treat severe depression (we don't particularly know why, but it works), not amnesia (it can actually cause amnesia), where electrodes are placed on the brain and it is shocked – it's a very old method of treatment used less these days because of negative side effects, but it's gotten a bit better since unilateral methods have been used where only one side of the brain is shocked instead of both. Then REM stands for 'Rapid Eye Movement' it is a stage of sleep in which we dream. If you're woken up whilst in this stage it has been found that you remember your dreams better. I think that's all the lingo I used in this - hopefully I didn't confuse anyone.

I'm quoting past events from this story a lot, I find. If you've been reading this from the start (hello!) I doubt you remember. I don't even really remember earlier chapters. If you're one of the recent followers (hello!) perhaps it will be a lot more coherent for you. An issue with starting so many stories is I get confused between what I wrote in each one. A couple of chapters ago I was about to quote something and then I realised it was from a different story altogether. These last two chapters have been a continuation of one long idea, but it ended up coming out in a different order to how I originally planned – because I thought of it, in detail, whilst I was in bed – by the morning, I forgot the majority of the idea and it was just a blur. I was too tired at the time to write it down in notes on my iPhone.

Thanks for reading!


	14. The Dream Theory

**Amnesia**

Chapter 14: The Dream Theory

* * *

><p>"Wait." Naruto stopped her in the middle of her explanation. "You're not in here because you hurt yourself?"<p>

"Oh no." Sakura shook her head. "The worst I did was scrape my arms." She looked at her now perfect skin that she had scratched falling off the Forest of Death tower. "But I guess Tsunade healed me," she mumbled.

Naruto frowned. "Why did Granny allow that to happen? And then get you to believe you were going to die!"

"Because," she answered calmly, "it really helped us out with this amnesia thing."

"How is that helping?" he asked. "I'd rather you be safe than hurt with fragments of your past memories."

She didn't think Naruto would take the whole thing well. The entire time she had  
>new memories of him, he was protecting her from everything - even from herself.<p>

"I am safe. I know the danger won't help me so I don't need to seek it out anymore... Tsunade thinks that my moral unconscious and heart are really fighting my amnesia. This is a good thing!" she exclaimed, a big smile forming on her face.

Naruto smiled back. "That sounds about right, Sakura-chan."

He wasn't going to scold her right now. Her smile showed true happiness and hope that he wasn't willing to dampen.

* * *

><p>Sasuke Uchiha returned to the site where he had killed his former best friend Naruto Uzumaki. He wasn't quite sure why he returned, he had been happy that he'd finally gotten rid of the nuisance stopping him from completing his new goal. With Naruto out the way, with Sakura memory-less, with Kakashi surely only having hate for him after what he'd done... Destroying Konoha should be easier. Nobody would be willing to accept him back any longer. He had smashed the bonds between his old hometown and all its citizens. He would have no feel guilt for crushing it.<p>

Frowning at the floor, he peered at the place where he had struck Naruto... Truthfully, he had been pretty beaten up as well. He wondered if Sakura would have attacked him in his weakened state if she had her memories - he doubted it, her first concern would be Naruto. Pity, he didn't see his pink haired ex-teammate doing very well without her number one idiot protector. It had been easy to use her as bait, he should have thought of it before. Her memory loss was all perfect timing but he assumed he could have done it if she didn't have amnesia.

He wondered for a moment if she would ever get her memories back. Would she hate herself for letting Naruto die? Would she hate him? Actually be able to kill him this time, if she tried? He doubted she could, but she surely wouldn't want him to return to Konoha anymore would she? He often frowned upon the fact that they were still trying after six years, after several bloody fights leaving both sides injured.

For their most recent fight being so bloody, he expected there to be blood stains on the floor. Kakashi was good, but he was no professional medic, there would have been blood when they moved the body. There was no puddle of tears or signs of distress. He'd noted Sakura could create some pretty big holes in the ground. Perhaps if she did have her memories, she would have punched the ground out of anger or sadness... But she didn't, so she couldn't have saved Naruto, right?

He looked around for signs of life from his old rival. All these thoughts of what Konoha would do about him now he had killed Naruto Uzumaki were likely hypothetical. He had an annoying feeling deep down the boy was still alive. He'd had this lingering feeling since the incident. How, he didn't know. Naruto should have died, with no medic there.

Could Sakura have healed him? She didn't know how to heal anymore, unless she was lying to him. She fought him like she was a civilian, but there was still some kind of spark in her, in her eyes. Sakura had always had a strong will. Still, he doubted her ability to learn to heal Naruto in such a short space of time.

If Naruto was alive... He'd just have to kill him, again. He should have finished off the job last time. He didn't quite know why he didn't. _It was to send a message,_ he thought. _To make my ex-teammates suffer_. He could try and get back into Konoha again. He wondered if they'd searched the Uchiha district, found the secret entrance he had used to enter and exit freely.

Frankly, he was a little surprised it hadn't been discovered beforehand. Perhaps it was because only an Uchiha's blood could open and seal it - and now, he was the last Uchiha, hell-bent on getting his revenge. This time, if he found Sakura, maybe he should just kill her. Killing the Hokage's apprentice - a popular leading medic and Naruto's best friend - now _that_ would send a message.

* * *

><p>"Right, Sakura," Sakura spoke to herself. She was currently lying in bed, staring at the dark ceiling. "We're going to dream a memory tonight."<p>

But what memory? She'd dreamt of the Forest of Death because she had been heavily emotionally conflicted about it all. She had kept thinking about that fencing around the forest, the trees, the tower, what Naruto had said to her, why she wanted to go in so badly. She needed an image to focus on, to lodge into her subconscious to dream about. You dream of what you think about right? Several people flashed through her mind: Naruto, Tsunade, Shizune, Ino, Lee... She wanted to remember her times with them.

After today, she really wanted to remember about her herb skills, with all the writing she had done in that book... She seemed to have had a fascination with it. To an extent, she even wanted to know about her 'paperwork skills' then maybe she'd get to talk to Tsunade more, weasel some extra help or teachings from the sannin. She wondered if the 'learn chakra and I'll teach your medical chakra' deal was still on.

When she next looked at the clock it was 2 a.m.

She growled in frustration and rubbed her temples. Her thoughts were too active for her to drift off to sleep, but didn't they need to be?

Two more hours past and she was still wide awake.

Uncomfortably hot, she kicked off her bedcovers and headed into her bathroom. It was dark, but she easily found her way, used to her surroundings already.

Turning on the bathroom light, she turned on the tap and splashed cold water on her face before looking at herself in the mirror. She stared into her own eyes, as if her reflection held all the answers. "Who am I?" she mumbled. "Who are you Sakura?"

She stood there for several minutes in silence. The only sound to be heard was the running water of the tap.

After searching her emerald gaze and finding only her own confusion, she sighed and turned off the tap before heading back to her room.

Tired, she just hoped she could get to sleep this time.

* * *

><p>When Sakura awoke in the morning, she furrowed her eyebrows in thought. Had she dreamt of anything? She didn't remember... She sighed deeply, not really feeling like getting up.<p>

What could she do today? See Naruto and ask his thoughts on all this? She could ask him to describe something to her before she went to bed, then she had a thought to try and hold onto when she went to sleep. That was logical. Surely he'd be up for a sleepover.

In the meantime, she could go to the library and borrow some books on dreams. She unfortunately didn't have much literature on dreams in her bookshelf already. Not that she'd have much reason to before now.

Now that she had a plan, she forced herself to get up and get ready for a day of research.

* * *

><p>Tsunade looked up from her paperwork, when the door knocked and Ino Yamanaka walked into the room. "There you are, Ino," she greeted the younger medic.<p>

"Tsunade-sama, what did you want to see me about?"

"I was thinking about studying Sakura's brain activity, I wonder if your father could take another look at her, since he looked at her before."

"Sure, I'll take Sakura to my house later, unless she knows about it already?" Ino questioned.

"She knows I wanted to do some tests. She didn't know I wanted to ask Inoichi to take another look," Tsunade replied. "Speaking of Sakura, did you tell her she was better now than before she had her amnesia?"

"Maybe." Ino smirked. "She knows I was only joking though. She was a little down at the time."

The Hokage shook her head before asking, "Do you know where she is now?"

"She's working in the hospital..." Ino raised an eyebrow. "Don't you know?"

"What?" Tsunade frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well at first she was rambling on about dreams, then she was bandaging up some little girl's arm." Ino shrugged. "I think everyone assumed you gave her permission to do whatever she was trying to do."

The sannin sighed. She wasn't surprised really. Standing up, she ordered, "Fetch Shizune to cover for me whilst I go and see what that girl's up to."

"Shizune's there too." Ino smiled.

"Is she now," Tsunade mumbled, "I'd better go join in the party."

* * *

><p>"Like this?" Sakura pulled away to study her work.<p>

"Perfect!" Emi, a young female medic grinned behind her.

Sakura smiled back. At first she had gone to the library and picked up a big book on dream theories, but then she thought _why not ask Shizune-san?_ So headed to the hospital. Shizune seemed friendly and Tsunade had said she used to have medical discussions with her. If the Hokage wouldn't help her learn medical chakra, maybe someone else would. When she got to the hospital, she found a group of medics, who were all really friendly towards her.

A young brunette called Emi started talking to her. Sakura brought up relearning some of the ways of being a medic and the girl offered to help her.

Emi was shorter than her. She looked and spoke as if she were younger too. She had shortcut brown hair to her shoulders and had a real baby face. She had light blue eyes that sparkled with joy. Sakura was happy to see how enthusiastic she was about helping her, Emi looked beyond excited. So far they'd gone through all sorts of bandaging techniques and to her surprise, it was easy.

Emi's younger sister, Kiku, was helping them. Kiku was just like a mini Emi, enthusiasm and all, she was only seven years old.

Sakura eventually spotted Shizune and when she brought up dreams, Shizune said she had a good book she could give her. Then said she'd be happy to teach her some things about herbs and antidotes. Sakura was just waiting for the older medic to get back.

"We could try leg bandages next Sakura-san!" Emi suggested.

She smiled back. "Great. Shouldn't we remove the old ones first? Your sister is going to be a walking mummy."

Emi giggled.

"What's going on here?" Tsunade's booming voice echoed around the room.

Sakura and Emi jumped and turned around to face the sannin, who didn't look too pleased.

"Hey, shishou." Sakura smiled nervously.

"What are you doing, Sakura?" Tsunade asked.

"Emi-chan was just helping me with some bandaging techniques." Sakura smiled at her new friend.

"I heard you were bandaging arms," the Hokage mumbled.

Sakura and Emi stepped to the sides to reveal a young girl - one arm was bandaged in a sling fashion to her shoulder, her head and right eye was also wrapped in bandages.

"Is she injured?" Tsunade frowned.

"Umm...no." Sakura swallowed. "But she volunteered!"

"She's my little sister, Kiku," Emi added, managing a weak, unconvincing smile. "But we have permission from you Hokage-sama, right, Sakura-san?"

Sakura laughed nervously. "Of course I have permission..."

Tsunade sighed before stepping aside and pointing out the door. "I'm sure you have other work to do Emi."

"Right." Emi bowed before rushing to the door. "I'll get back to work!"

"Emi-chan, you forgot your-" Sakura called after the younger medic, but she'd already gone. "...sister."

"Kiku," Tsunade looked at the bandaged girl, "go with your older sister."

Kiku sat there, looking up at the Hokage with wide eyes, but then the young brunette only shuffled so she was sat further behind Sakura.

"Kiku," Tsunade repeated, annoyance lacing her tone.

Kiku peered around Sakura, but gripped the pink haired medic's arm tightly.

"Shishou," Sakura frowned, "I can take her to Emi."

"I'm here for the party!" Ino announced loudly as she walked into the room.

"Ino, take Kiku to Emi please," Tsunade ordered.

Sakura stepped to the side and Ino smiled at the sight. "What has Sakura done to you?"

Sakura smiled back. "What do you mean? She looks good!"

"Come on, Kiku," Ino offered her hand to the young girl. "Let's find Emi...again."

Slowly, Kiku accepted the offer and walked with Ino out of the room, keeping her eye on the Hokage until she passed her.

"Why scare the children?" Sakura mumbled.

Tsunade smirked and replied, "It's my job. We can't have her running about the hospital."

"She seems used to the place," Sakura stated.

"She is. She has to come with Emi since her mother works all day." Tsunade shrugged. "She's always liked you though, both her and Emi have."

Sakura lowered her head. "I don't remember them at all. I didn't know that."

"Emi certainly looks up to you. You used to help her out when she was first learning."

"I guess that's why she was so happy to help me." Sakura smiled. "Everyone is really friendly around here."

"Sakura, you've worked here for nearly six years, these people respect you." Tsunade shook her head.

"Since you won't help me until I've learnt to control chakra, I reckoned these people would. They let me help out! And I'm learning things that don't require chakra." Sakura smiled.

"I didn't give you permission to use your position at the hospital to distract the other medics from their work." The Sannin frowned.

"But I'm helping," Sakura mumbled, her smile turning into a pout.

"Bandaging uninjured people?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"I took blood earlier!" Sakura grinned.

"...From someone who needed a blood test?"

"Yes."

"Who let you do that?" Tsunade frowned.

Sakura avoided eye contact. "Why? Do you want to shout at them? I've forgotten their name I'm afraid."

Tsunade closed her eyes and rubbed her temples tentatively. "You give me headaches, girl."

Sakura smiled innocently.

"I found Emi." Ino walked back into the room. "And, Sakura, Mayu said the patient's blood test came out fine."

"That's great news." Sakura smiled back.

"That is unless you did the blood test wrong," Tsunade grumbled.

"But I didn't," Sakura insisted, "I'm good at this stuff."

"I'm sure you could do it in your sleep." Tsunade shrugged. "It looks like you've not lost all your skills."

"Now just to learn chakra control," Sakura mumbled before smiling at her mentor hopefully.

"Why don't you get Emi to help you?" Tsunade snorted.

"Maybe I will." Sakura frowned.

"Good luck with that. Emi can't use the Mystical Palm technique. She does more of the civilian practical side of medicine and healing," Tsunade added.

"Darn," Sakura grumbled.

"Oh and Sakura," Ino interrupted. "Naruto's been looking for you for hours."

Whoops. She forgot she had told Naruto she'd meet him later today. "Where is he now?" she asked.

"He's found his way here." Ino shrugged.

"I'd better go find him." Sakura smiled.

"Do you expect me to just let you off the hook?" Tsunade questioned.

"Yes please." Sakura smiled.

"No more interrupting medics' schedules?"

"I said I'd help out more," Sakura added sheepishly.

"Instead of you helping out, how about we do some tests on you instead?" Tsunade suggested.

"All right." Sakura agreed. "Sounds good to me."

"Want to sleep over at mine, Sakura?" Ino asked.

"Actually, I was going to ask Naruto if he'd sleep at mine tonight."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I'm trying to unlock my memories through dreaming. I thought maybe he could talk to me, put an image in my head for me to focus on, you know?" Sakura shrugged.

"Why can't I do that? Why does it have to be Naruto?" Ino questioned.

Sakura didn't answer.

"I guess you don't love me as much."

"That's not it, Ino." Sakura shook her head. "We could try it if you want. I just thought Naruto would help me..."

"Chill, Forehead." Ino smiled. "You can use your boyfriend in this experiment of yours, but as long as you hang out with me later okay?"

"Okay and he's not my boyfriend."

"Geez, how long does it take for you to ask him out?" Ino rolled her eyes.

Sakura shuffled uncomfortably. "I didn't say I was going to."

"Want me to for you?"

"No!" Sakura's eyes widened.

Tsunade laughed. "Want me to?"

Sakura pouted. "Please stop ganging up on me."

"You're so easy to tease." Ino grinned. "It's only a bit of fun."

Shizune entered the room, a large textbook in her hand.

"Shizune-san," Sakura looked up at the older medic, "help me please, they're being mean."

Shizune gave the Hokage a displeased look to which Tsunade returned and stated, "Why aren't you working, Shizune?"

"I am." Shizune smiled and walked over to Sakura, handing over the book.

"By helping Sakura?"

"Yes." The medic nodded. "Isn't that one of your ongoing orders?"

"Not by helping her sneak around the hospital and distract the medics." Tsunade frowned.

"I think it's good for her," Shizune replied. "She's been brightening up patients' days by visiting them and it's a change from stressing over things she can't do yet. You're not the only one who can teach her."

Tsunade frowned, inwardly cursing Shizune's positive logic.

"You're not jealous of other people teaching me are you, shishou?" Sakura tilted her head.

"Pfft, they can have you." Tsunade shrugged.

"I would prefer you if you would help me. I'd be more likely pick it up or remember something then," Sakura added.

"I might help you if you do some paperwork for me," the Hokage propositioned.

"All right," Sakura agreed. She was interested in just what she'd get to do.

"You can teach Sakura that, Shizune," Tsunade shot the younger medic a smug look.

Shizune looked at Tsunade and then to Sakura before sighing and nodding.

"Great." Sakura smiled. "Are we still up for a lab lesson though Shizune-san?"

"Of course." The older medic smiled back.

"Sakura-chaaan," Naruto called out from down the hall.

"In here," she shouted.

Naruto stepped into the room before giving her his trademark grin and walking up to her.

She smiled back and hugged him. "Sorry I never came and found you."

"That's okay. I know you've been busy." He pulled back and smiled at her.

She nodded before looking up at him. "Can I ask you a favour?"

"Sure." He grinned.

"I need you to sleep with me."

Naruto choked.

The room went silent. Sakura looked at the other women, Ino and Tsunade looked amused while Shizune seemed surprised.

"What?"

"Not the best choice of words." Ino smirked.

"He knows that I mean." Sakura looked at him, he'd gone a little red. "A sleepover, talk to me before I sleep, try and help me build up a picture of something, I guess stay, but..." Now she was blushing, her motives were completely innocent.

"Tell her a story, like a dad or older brother," Ino elaborated.

Naruto slumped and lowered his head. He looked sourly disappointed and upset by that analogy.

"Right," Sakura mumbled.

"After your date?" Ino smiled.

"Date?" Sakura repeated.

Naruto looked up and asked her. "Want to go for ramen, Sakura-chan?"

She nodded. "Come on then."

She went to head out the room and Naruto followed her.

"Have fun on your date." Tsunade smiled.

Sakura replied, "It's not a-"

"With your boyfriend," Ino added.

Sakura gave up. Shaking her head, she left the room without humouring them.

"Give her a break." Shizune shook her head.

"But they're a cute couple don't you think, Shizune-san?" Ino asked.

"Yes, but you don't need to embarrass them." Shizune smiled.

"Oh, Shizune," Tsunade placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Yes we do."

* * *

><p>On their way to Sakura's apartment after ramen, Sakura started flicking through her book that Shizune had given her.<p>

"That's interesting," Sakura noted as she walked alongside Naruto. "Every time you recall a memory, you're still creating a new connection to your brain, so it's the same as you having a new thought."

"You read too much, Sakura-chan." Naruto grinned.

"Shizune-san did go to the trouble of finding me this book," Sakura pointed out before closing it. "Sorry I'm being rude."

Naruto shook his head. "No way. It's great to see you so enthusiastic about something."

"What do you think of my dream theory?" she asked.

"I dunno, Sakura-chan," Naruto gave her a small smile. "The only things I get out of my dreams are that I'm hungry."

"Are all your dreams happy then?"

"No, when ramen flies away from you it's definitely a nightmare." He shivered.

Sakura laughed.

"All my dreams with you in are really happy though!" He grinned.

"What do you think about lucid dreaming then?" Sakura asked. "Controlling what you dream."

"How can you control seeing a memory if you don't remember the memory you want to dream about though?" Naruto mumbled.

"I guess... It's just I dreamt about the Forest of Death and I'm sure that was a memory. I thought..." she trailed off.

"It's worth a try. What do I need to do?" Naruto followed her up the steps to her apartment.

"Talk to me, try and build up a picture of a memory for me to think about before I go to sleep," she replied, taking out her keys to open her front door.

"Sounds easy. What do you want me to talk about?"

"Any memory we share," she mumbled and opened her door. "I've been doing a lot of medical things today. Have any stories about me healing someone that would stand out to me?"

"Umm." Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm not usually allowed in the room when you're healing someone."

"Why?" She laughed, taking off her shoes and placing them by the front door. "Do you distract me or something?"

Naruto smiled and replied, "Nothing could distract you from a patient."

"Well I don't know then," Sakura mumbled. "I didn't really plan this out did I? I just dragged you into it."

"But sleepovers are fun!" Naruto grinned. "I guess I can tell you about the time you healed Kankuro..."

Sakura headed to the kitchen. "Who?"

"Gaara's brother."

She didn't reply.

"He's the Kazekage of the Sand." Naruto grinned, following her and leaning against the kitchen counter.

She frowned. "Oh. I guess I should know him then. Was he the Kazekage when I was eight?"

Naruto laughed. "He's our age, our friend."

"We have some powerful friends huh?" Sakura smiled.

"Yeah...and you saved his brother's life."

"Tell me about that tonight?" Sakura asked, getting out two cups for drinks.

"Sure."

* * *

><p>At bedtime, Naruto followed Sakura into her bedroom and looked around. "Want me to sleep on the floor, Sakura-chan?"<p>

She couldn't make him sleep on the floor. She didn't really think it all through, it could potentially be awkward. "And have you talk to me from on the floor? That's a little weird don't you think?"

"I'll be like a radio! You'll hear me but not see me." He grinned before sitting on the floor next to her bed. He lay down and announced, "Welcome to story time on Naruto FM!"

She laughed and got in the right side of her bed. "Seriously, Naruto, get in the other side, I'm not going to invite you over and then make you sit on the floor."

Naruto got back up and looked at her. "Really? You'd usually hit me if I got so close."

"Naruto," she grumbled.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" He laughed. He got in the other side.

They both looked at the ceiling in silence for a while.

"So what happened in the Sand Village?" Sakura asked.

As Naruto began to speak, she tried to focus on the details - she tied her hair up, her patient lay on the table in front of her, she was ordering the Sand medics about to get her the equipment she needed.

"And you were all 'it's a heavy metal poison!' Then you got this bubble and-"

"What?"

"You said the poison was made from heavy metals or something...and then you used this bubble to take out the poison and...I didn't really understand what you were doing, but you sounded cool."

She laughed but continued to listen.

"...In the end you removed all the poison and took down your hair and shook it before putting your headband back on, then you went off to create an antidote..." Naruto yawned. "Which you did of course."

Sakura hummed. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to imagine the picture. "Well thanks, Naruto."

She opened her eyes again and turned to look at him. He was sleeping.

Smiling to herself, she tried to sleep also, his words still repeating in her head.

* * *

><p>When Sakura woke up in the morning, she tried to hold onto any fragments of her dreams. She sighed, not really remembering what she dreamt about at all.<p>

She opened her eyes and pulled her arms out from under the covers.

Her eyes widened when she saw her hands were glowing green with medical chakra. She turned to Naruto, intending to wake him up in her excitement, but then stopped herself.

Naruto was still sleeping and he was rather cute whilst he slept, but then he started talking...

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

I'm undecided on how big a part Sasuke will have in this yet. Then the whole Sakura not being able to sleep was inspired by myself, I was awake till past 5:30am the other night for numerous reasons.

Thank you for 50 favourites, 68 follows and 84 reviews, as well as all the PMs. It's great to talk to you about whatever.

Maybe Amnesia will be a few more chapters. A good few of you have been telling me to take my time, which is appreciated. The rest of you say update soon XD. That's also appreciated, but I'll try and find the middle ground. If I take my time this story will probably end up being longer, but we'll see. Thanks for your continued patience :).

I was thinking perhaps I could write longer chapters but it might be longer between the updates? Feel free to say whatever you'd prefer. I've not really included any other original characters in this story - not that I'm going to - I doubt Emi and Kiku will make another appearance.

Also, you know Tsunade's and Ino's teasing is just teasing right? I enjoy writing them like that, but they're not supposed to come off as actually selfish and mean. It's all in good fun.

This chapter was really random... And so are these author notes. Trust me. I deleted 90% of them.

Thanks for reading :).


	15. Reverse Learning

**Amnesia**

Chapter 15: Reverse Learning

* * *

><p>Sakura studied her friend in interest as he began murmuring in his sleep, momentarily forgetting her green, glowing hands, as she was preoccupied by the massive smile on his face.<p>

"Sakura-chaaan," he mumbled, wiggling a little further down in the bed, seemingly pleased.

Her eyes widened. He was dreaming about her. Whatever could it be about?

All of a sudden, his smile fell. "Please don't!" he called out. "Nooo, Sakura-chan!"

Thinking it was a nightmare and that he was in pain, she went to wake him, but then he rolled over and added, "Not the ramen!"

Her worry dissipated in an instant and turned into exasperation. He was dreaming about her...threatening his ramen? For some reason, she wasn't surprised. Annoyed that he made her worry, she decided to let him continue that oh so scary nightmare for a little longer, while she looked back at her glowing hands.

Medical chakra! She was using it! She didn't remember what her dream was about, but maybe Naruto really did unconsciously help her remember things – she wasn't sure, this hadn't happened before. She'd have to try it again, have him stay the night and see if she got the same result. But for now, what did she do? She stared at her hands intently, she wasn't sure if she felt any different; she couldn't stop the flow of chakra and didn't seem to have any control over it at all.

Hopefully Naruto would know what to do, if not, Tsunade surely would – perhaps she could pass this off as her remembering how to control chakra and then the Hokage would offer to teach her. If anything, this must mean that it was possible for her to get back her abilities. A feeling of hope and relief washed over her – she was more determined now than ever. She had the urge to get up and try and heal something.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said again, although he no longer sounded afraid.

She glanced at him, he had rolled back over and she smiled once more. He was smiling to himself. When he wasn't crying out or thrashing about, she'd stick by her view that he was a cute sleeper.

"You're the best girlfriend ever," Naruto whispered before sighing contently.

She blushed. She had told Ino that if she ever got her memories or abilities back that she would try and confess her feelings for Naruto – though she technically hadn't got her abilities back yet. It seemed that in the dream world, she was already dating the boy anyway. At least things didn't seem too messed up between them; it looked like whatever she did to him, he would always forgive her.

She shook her head, she was very lucky to have him, she still didn't know why he was so loyal to her – despite him saying he loved her (when she had first woken up), any confessions of a similar thought had gotten much more infrequent. It was possible that his feelings for her were not so strong anymore and that he was just too nice to tell her.

Then again, she did ask if they were still 'friends'. Their relationship was very awkward and confusing at the moment and she wasn't helping with that. She really needed to get her priorities straight.

Looking at her hands once more, she smiled and shook her head before nudging her sleeping friend. "Hey Naruto," she spoke softly. "Take a look at this."

Naruto giggled but didn't open his eyes.

"Naruto," she repeated, a little louder.

Naruto opened his eyes slowly. He blinked a few times before staring at her sleepily. "Morning, Sakura-chan."

"Look!" She held up her hands. "Medical chakra!"

Naruto smiled dreamily at her. "OK."

When he didn't make the mental connection, she got out the bed and stood up. "I woke up this morning and my hands were glowing. I'm using medical chakra, but I don't quite know how."

His eyes widened as the realisation hit him. He shot up in the bed and grinned. "You're using medical chakra! Way to go, Sakura-chan!"

"Now what?" she asked expectantly.

He rubbed the back of his head, suddenly completely awake, his smile not so prominent. "Can you stop the flow of chakra and stop using it?"

She shook her head.

"So you couldn't start using it if you tried?"

She shook her head again. "I woke up and it was like this, I've not done anything."

"You've not been using it for too long right?" he asked, concern starting to form on his face.

"Only a few minutes," she said casually. "I don't know how long it's been like this though, while I was asleep."

Naruto nodded. "We'd better go and ask Granny then. You don't want to be chakra exhausted."

"OK then, let's go." She smiled before looking down at her hands and adding, "Whatever you said last night must have worked, you certainly did something."

He grinned. "I'm magical, Sakura-chan!"

She watched him grab his clothes and jump out of the bed, rushing for the bathroom to get ready. When he was out the door, she smiled to herself and shook her head.

"Yes you are."

* * *

><p>The journey to the Hokage's Office was certainly interesting. She walked side by side with Naruto. While there were only a few people out and about in the early hours of the morning, it was probably a rare sight to see someone walking around with glowing hands – so she ended up putting on her gloves, just to avoid the strange looks sent her way, despite Naruto giving them equally as strange looks until they averted their gaze.<p>

When the office was insight, she was itching to run, hoping that the Hokage would have some answers for her.

Naruto must have felt the same way, because he ran down the corridor and burst through the Hokage's door, not bothering to knock. "Granny!" he announced himself loudly.

She ran to catch up to him and followed him into the room, relieved when there was nobody else in the office and that they hadn't just interrupted something.

"How'd last night go?" Tsunade asked, with interest, watching her as she entered.

Taking off her gloves, she showed the medic her hands.

The sannin's eyes widened. "You remember?"

Sakura winced slightly. "Not exactly. I woke up and I was just like this. I can't actually stop it... But I'm doing it while conscious. That's a good thing, right?"

Tsunade frowned. "You can't stop the flow of chakra? So you can't control it or use it again if you did stop it?"

"No."

There was a small silence. Sakura could almost feel her mentor's disappointment and her shoulders slumped automatically in reaction. "So...?"

"How long have you been using your chakra for?" Tsunade questioned.

"Twenty minutes maybe?" She shrugged. "I don't know how long I was using it for before I woke up."

"Using chakra for an extended period of time isn't good for your health, Sakura," Tsunade informed her. "I would hope that it's not been too long."

"So this isn't a good thing?" she asked, hearing the disappointment in her own tone.

Naruto frowned at the Hokage and the blonde shook her head. "It could be a good thing, possibly."

Sakura's eyes widened. "How?"

"Perhaps if you can recreate this, you can learn to use chakra again in a different way." Tsunade placed both her elbows on the desk and leant her chin on her hands."Perhaps."

"How?" she repeated, feeling hopeful again.

"Can you feel the chakra? Feel the energy flow?" Tsunade questioned.

"I don't know..." Sakura looked down at her hands. "When I woke up, I didn't even notice. It just felt normal, no different."

"If the flow were to stop, it would be likely you could tell the difference," Tsunade hummed.

"Only I can't stop it," Sakura mumbled.

"I can," the Hokage replied. "I can stop your flow of chakra with my own, hopefully, because if it can't be stopped, this could be a serious problem."

"Great." She laughed sheepishly. "Just tell me what I have to do."

"You don't have to do anything." Tsunade shrugged. "Just concentrate on how you feel and then afterwards see if you can recreate that feeling. It will be like learning backwards."

She nodded, willing to try anything. "Do you really think it would work?"

"I'm not guaranteeing anything," Tsunade said, looking at her seriously. "But with past cases of amnesia and brain disorders, there have been ways of getting around losing parts of the patient's senses or abilities."

"Really?" She urged the older medic to continue, extremely interested in how others had re-learnt things they had lost due to brain damage. If it applied to her, she wanted to know everything.

"For example, a man woke up one day and could no longer read," the sannin began.

Sakura felt sorry for that man – she'd hate not being able to read, books had kept her sane over the period of her memory loss.

"He couldn't read because his brain could no longer interpret the words on the page, through his eyes, the letters just looked like strange symbols," Tsunade explained. "So he re-learnt how to read."

"How?" Naruto questioned.

"He came to learn which letter was which symbol and taught himself from scratch, like learning a new language. Then to him, these new symbols were as normal as the alphabet."

"That must have taken some dedication," she added, impressed.

"Yes." Tsunade nodded and got up from her desk, walking towards her apprentice. "But you don't have to worry about a lack of dedication. I'm going to stop the flow of your chakra now."

Sakura nodded back, swallowing her slight nervousness. "So I just need to concentrate on the change in how it feels?"

Her mentor stood in front of her and placed a hand on each of her arms. "Yes, concentrate on the change in energy. Medical chakra control is so precise, you must feel some difference."

"Right," Sakura replied and closed her eyes, concentrating.

She felt a foreign feeling wash through her, it was strange, but she tried to note the changes in her own energy as it seemed to slowly drain away.

Tsunade removed her hands and took a step backwards.

Sakura stayed with her eyes closed for a moment more before opening them and looking at her hands again – they were no longer glowing. Taking a deep breath, she tried to re-create the feeling of the flow of her chakra again. Nothing happened. She sighed.

"Never mind, Sakura-chan," Naruto said softly. "You'll get it next time."

"I didn't expect you to be able to just do it like that," Tsunade added and returned to her desk. "I would have been highly surprised."

"You think I can though? Honestly?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura," Tsunade smiled and shook her head. "How many times do I have to tell you that brain damage affects people in different ways? This is as new to you as it is to me. We're learning together here."

"Technically I just formed chakra, will you teach me now?" she asked politely, hopeful.

The Hokage smirked. "You really don't give up, girl... What happened to doing my paperwork for me?"

"Shizune-san is going to go through it with me." She shrugged. "As well as poisons and a whole range of other non-chakra medical techniques."

"It sounds like you don't need me," Tsunade said blankly.

"Of course I do, you're my mentor," she replied, looking the older medic in the eyes.

After a moment of silence, Tsunade shook her head. "Honestly, I spend hours on end trawling through medical textbooks and old scrolls and you get further in one night by having Naruto sleep in your bed."

"Because I'm magic!" Naruto grinned.

Sakura nudged the boy, before looking back at her mentor. "You've spent hours researching amnesia?"

"...Maybe."

Sakura smiled warmly at the woman. "I really appreciate that, shishou."

The Hokage shrugged. "If only it got us somewhere."

"Maybe we could discuss some of the things you've found together," she suggested. "That way, I could get to know you again."

"Why would you want that?" Naruto mumbled to her.

She nudged the boy again and shot him a look. He grinned cheekily back at her.

"We still have tests I want to perform anyway," Tsunade said pointedly. "So we'll see if there is anything to discuss. Until then, I'm happy for you to re-learn other things with Shizune, that can't do you any harm."

"And I'll continue teaching her Granny, don't worry!" Naruto added enthusiastically.

"I don't know about the teaching." Tsunade smiled and shook her head. "But you spending time with her certainly helps. She makes far more progress when you're here than when you're not. So whatever you're doing, keep doing it."

Sakura and Naruto looked at each other.

"I don't quite know what I've been doing that's been helpful," Naruto mumbled.

Sakura laughed and he grinned at her.

"And, Sakura... If your chakra is activated again and you're not in control, don't let it drag on too long, that could be dangerous for your health," the Hokage added seriously. "You come to me, or anyone of your friends and get them to break your chakra connection."

"Will do." Sakura nodded.

"Even if you can activate and control chakra within your own body, with medical chakra you also have to send it to the appropriate part of your patient, it's not something to be experimented with."

She pouted – that was true. She didn't think she was prepared to try and heal her friends like that; she didn't want to accidently hurt them.

"No progress with normal chakra?" Tsunade asked.

"No." Sakura shook her head. "All these cases have been me using medical chakra, even if I couldn't fully control it or was aware."

"Apart from one," Tsunade pointed out.

There was a small silence.

"Apart from when I hit Sasuke," she thought aloud, a little surprised at the realisation.

Her mentor gave her a small smile. "Maybe Sasuke brings out a deep, unconscious anger out of you."

Sakura laughed. "And Naruto brings out my medic mode?"

"You'd think it would be the other way around." Naruto shrugged. "You're always hitting me, Sakura-chan."

"Perhaps if you tell me some stories about that, I'll wake up controlling normal chakra." She grinned.

Naruto winced. "Can I tell you stories about you beating up Sai instead?"

"Sure."

He thought about it. "I don't know if I'd want to wake up to you when you were controlling normal chakra, Sakura-chan... What if you break something, or me?"

"You could sleep on the floor then," she suggested with a smile.

"The floor won't save me from your punch," Naruto pointed out plainly. "Nothing saves me from that."

"Just be careful, Sakura," Tsunade warned. "Chakra is nothing without control."

"I'm always careful, shishou." Sakura smiled reassuringly. "Let's go, Naruto."

She turned around to leave and reached for the door handle, just as the door opened with quite a lot of force. Sakura stepped backwards but still got knocked in the face. Naruto rushed forward and caught her, preventing her from falling to the floor in front of her mentor (again).

Ino popped her head around the door when she realised she'd hit something and raised an eyebrow at the two of them before entering the room anyway. "Sorry, Forehead."

Sakura gave Naruto a small smile as he helped her stand up right again. She then looked a little embarrassingly at her mentor, who had covered her eyes with her one hand and was shaking her head. Letting out a small laugh and brushing herself off casually, she said, "It's Ino, I try, but I just can't be careful when it comes to her."

"Sakura, you're a klutz, don't blame me for your coordination issues." Ino frowned.

Frowning back at the blonde, she grumbled, "What do you want, Ino? Apart from to hit me doors?"

"You said you'd hang out with me, so I was here to collect you." Ino grinned.

"Collect me? I can get to places myself." She rolled her eyes.

"Like when you said you'd meet Naruto yesterday and forgot? And then when you said you'd meet me before that and forgot also?" Ino raised an eyebrow.

She opened her mouth to reply and then closed it again, Ino gave her a smug smile and Sakura protested, "I was doing important jobs."

"Kissing in trees and turning little girls into mummies is not more important than me," Ino added with a grin. "Besides, I plan to help you out."

Oh dear. Ino had a strange way of helping her out with things. "How?" she asked unenthusiastically, her tone completely flat.

"Let's just say it involves a lot of alcohol," Ino said seriously.

"Speaking of alcohol, can I have my bottle of sake back, Sakura?" Tsunade cut in.

She frowned. "The sake you gave me as an apology?"

"Yes."

"Why do you want it back?" Sakura questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I've run out." The Hokage shrugged. "...Have you drunk it?"

"No, it's in my cupboard. You can come round to my apartment and get it if you want." Sakura grinned. "Then we can have a discussion about chakra control!"

Tsunade pouted slightly before looking and Ino and asking, "Can I be involved with this alcohol plan?"

Ino laughed. "Nice try, Lady Tsunade, but this is purely to benefit Sakura, nobody else needs to drink anything."

The Hokage's pout increased.

Sakura looked at Naruto and tilted her head towards the door – she didn't like the sound of this plan of Ino's. While the two medics were talking, perhaps they could sneak out the room. Naruto nodded slowly and snuck towards the door, opening it without a sound.

In silent agreement, they both rushed for the door and ran out of the room. Naruto closed it behind him and they sped down the corridor. A second later, the door opened again.

"Forehead! Come back!" Ino called after her.

When she glanced over her shoulder, she found that her friend was chasing after her, but she didn't stop running.

"It's not as bad as it sounds!" the blonde added encouragingly.

Naruto stopped running and turned to face Ino, holding his ground, he shouted, "Go on without me, Sakura-chan!"

She laughed at his over-dramatic words, but decided that if he wanted to deal with Ino, he could deal with Ino. All she wanted to do was go home and read a quiet book, think all this chakra control and dream stuff through. Possibly come up with a new plan. So she didn't stop running until she was out of the Hokage Tower.

When she looked over her should again, she'd lost Ino...and Naruto. He'd be fine though, she doubted Ino could do that much damage to him. Smiling to herself, she planned to have a relaxing walk through Konoha, without trying to hide her hands from strangers or any funny business.

* * *

><p>Halfway home, she spotted Kakashi Hatake walking towards her, strolling along the path with a book in his hand.<p>

"Hey, Kakashi!" She greeted him with a big smile.

The masked man glanced over his book before shutting it and putting it in a pouch around his back. He then stood in front of her with his hands in his pockets. "Yo, Sakura."

"What are doing?" she asked.

"Not much." He shrugged nonchalantly. "You?"

"I'm going home." She shrugged back. "To think a little bit more about controlling chakra."

He gave her a friendly eye-crease. "How's that going for you?"

"It's been quite...eventful," she answered after some thought.

Kakashi nodded politely but didn't push for anymore.

"I really don't see you around much," Sakura stated, eyeing the man speculatively. "I thought you were my teammate."

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, you see, there's this little old lady who's just moved in next door to me and I've been helping her with all sorts of tasks."

Sakura was silent for a moment, but then she smiled. "How kind of you."

Kakashi chuckled.

"What's so funny?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing, Sakura," he replied, but he still sounded amused.

"Just what kind of tasks are you helping her with?" she asked, not getting the joke.

"Oh you know..." He trailed off. "Watering the plants, feeding the cat..."

"What's funny about that?" Sakura frowned.

"Nothing," he repeated with a smile.

She pouted, still confused, and he continued to smile. He was laughing at her! "I don't get the joke." She huffed.

"You don't usually believe me," he informed her casually.

"Why? Was it a lie?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course not, Sakura." He gasped in a way that made him sound offended that she'd ever questioned that.

"Okay..."

They stood there in silence for a few moments.

"Well, I'm off to feed the dog," Kakashi announced, pointing behind him before turning and walking away, despite the fact that he was now going the opposite way to which he was before.

"Cat," she called after him.

He chuckled again and waved over his shoulder. "See you around, Sakura."

Sakura watched him go, frowning. Her teammates were weird. Her friends were weird in general.

"Sakura!"

And now Ino had caught up with her. She silently cursed the masked man, but turned around to acknowledge her friend, hoping she wasn't too annoyed that she'd tried to run away from her.

"Hey, Ino," she said casually.

"Honestly, you run away from me when I'm trying to help you, now I'm not going to tell you my plan," Ino told her as reached her side.

"Good."

"OK, I'll tell you," Ino added.

She shook her head but didn't bother arguing. They began to walk down the path together. She looked to see if she could still see Kakashi, but he'd vanished – which wasn't really a surprise.

"You get drunk."

"...How will that help?" Sakura mumbled, looking at her friend oddly.

"Trust me, it's completely scientific," Ino reassured her. "It's all to do with emotion and memory - you remember certain things when you're drunk right?"

Sakura laughed, amused. "Like how much you loved your ex-boyfriend?"

Ino smiled slyly at her. "Well...that's how you first admitted your feelings for Naruto."

"Really?" Her eyes widened.

"No."

Sakura couldn't stop the feeling of disappointment. Something that was bugging her was the fact that she had known Naruto all these years and they had never dated, or just tried something... He admitted he liked her - she would have not noticed that, right? If she was feeling things for him now, after only knowing him for a few short months, just how did she feel towards him after years of knowing him? She really wanted to know; she didn't understand her past self at all. Naruto was right there, always. Then she was back to her saying she wanted to be friends and him not being as forward with his feelings now as he was when she first woke up.

She sighed. Her thoughts were a vicious circle.

"You may as well have done though," Ino added, noticing her shift in mood.

"You keep saying things like that, Ino, but if they were true and I did like him before I hit my head, why weren't we dating?" Sakura grumbled.

"Who knows." Ino shrugged. "He's completely awkward about it, and you're stubborn."

"He wasn't awkward about telling me how he felt when I woke up in hospital," she pointed out. "He was very forward with me, but now he's not, why?"

"Why don't you ask him that?" Ino suggested.

"I thought you liked me discussing these things with you." She frowned. She just wanted someone to tell her what to do.

"I do, but I get tired of telling you the same thing, you don't follow my advice." Ino frowned back.

"I don't trust your advice, Ino."

"Then trust yourself," Ino replied seriously. "Just tell him how you feel and what's bothering you, no matter how awkward you make it, he'll forgive you, he's Naruto."

She smiled to herself. That was true.

"Now back to my plan," Ino continued. "State-dependent memory! Perhaps you'll remember things that you thought about in the past when you were drunk."

"Do I really get drunk that often?" Sakura questioned, not believing it.

"No, you're pretty sensible, but when you do, you're fun." Ino grinned. "You tell me all sorts of secrets and beat people up with a single finger, it's quite entertaining."

Sakura laughed and shook her head. "Are you sure this plan isn't for your benefit instead of my own?"

"I'm offended you think that." Ino grinned. "I am completely unselfish. I've spent weeks thinking of ways to get back your memories."

"So far, all you've seemed to do is exploit my feelings for Naruto, trick me into doing things and try and get me drunk... Did you used to spend so much time with me, before my amnesia?"

"Not so much, but you were always so busy." Ino shrugged. "As your best friend, it's my job to solve your amnesia. I've decided that I will fix it."

"That's kind of you, even if your methods are a little obscure." She smiled and shook her head. "Did Naruto tell you about this morning though? I woke up glowing hands!"

"No, he didn't." Ino raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"Tsunade had to stop it." She frowned. "I couldn't actually control the medical chakra. Speaking of Naruto, what did you do to him?"

"Nothing," Ino shrugged. "I can usually scare him off, but I told him I was genuinely trying to help you out so he let me come and find you. For some reason, he seems to trust me as your friend a lot more than he used to."

"That's strange, because I trust you a lot less than when I first woke up in the hospital," she said teasingly.

"Ha ha." Ino frowned, not amused. "I really will stop trying to help you."

"I'm kidding," she added. "If you think of anything good, feel free to tell me, you don't usually discuss my plans with me."

"Because your plans are so technical and boring, I'm all up for going with the spur of the moment." Ino grinned.

Sakura shook her head, they reached her apartment building and Ino followed her inside, up the stairs and along the corridor to her place.

"I wanted to take you to my house," Ino grumbled. "You could come over for dinner..."

"You can stay here for dinner if you want." Sakura shrugged back, putting her house key into the lock and opening the door to let them both inside.

"Perhaps if you get a takeaway and don't cook it yourself."

"Oh I'm not that bad," she shot back, although didn't sound convincing even to her own ears. "I found this cookbook and I've been learning."

Ino laughed.

"I'm trying to re-learn the rest of my life, I may as well learn some things that I could never do before," she added.

"Right." Ino grinned and headed straight for the sofa, she sat down on it and draped her legs across the rest of the seat. "How's that going for you?"

"Well..." Sakura trailed off. She entered her kitchen area and opened her bin, looking at the burnt remains of dinner from a couple of nights ago. "I'm getting there. Drink?"

"Sake?" Ino enquired from her lazy position, not bothering to look back.

"I'm not going through with this alcohol plan, Ino," she said wearily, rolling her eyes and opening her cupboards to see what else she had to offer.

"If you're cooking, I'll need alcohol."

Sighing, she reached for the sake that Tsunade had given her before getting a glass and pouring some water for herself. She grabbed a rather large cookbook and tucked it under her arm before carrying the drinks back to the sofa, nudging Ino's legs out the way so she could sit down.

Ino happily received her own drink before grinning as Sakura put the cookbook down on the coffee table in front of them. "You really are serious with the cooking, I'm surprised. Unless you're trying to come up with some magical, healthy meal, you usually hate making food."

Sakura thought back to her early food-making attempts, remembering the smoke and the fire alarm activating before she waved it off with a tea towel. Cooking was frustrating. Yet she wasn't ready to admit that, especially to Ino, who seemed to know a lot more about her culinary skills than she did herself.

No longer in the mood to look at pictures of good food, she pulled out another book that she was halfway through, about the processes of memories.

Ino sighed. "I don't think reading is going to suddenly make you remember things, Sakura, or learn things, has the cooking not proved that yet?"

"It's just interesting," she replied dully.

"And surely completely frustrating, all you've done is research and plan to try and get your memories back, you need to loosen up a little," her friend told her seriously.

"Is that why you wanted me drunk?" She smiled and put down her book, studying her friend with wry amusement.

"Partially, you need some fun, Sakura, or you're going to go insane." The blonde shook her head. "After you hang out with me, my dad will look at your brain. Balance it out a little bit, you're going to stress yourself out."

"Inoichi wants to look at my brain?" She raised an eyebrow. "He already tried the magic hands thing, it didn't work."

"Magic hands?" Ino repeated. "Your hands were glowing this morning, you've been here long enough to know that these things aren't magic. You've read enough daft books to know what is possible."

Sakura frowned. "I've also read a lot of theories, things that aren't possible. Some of it I just don't believe. I don't know what to believe, what's real, what isn't."

"Believe what we tell you," Ino mumbled.

"You tell me lies." She laughed.

"When I'm serious." Ino frowned. "Look up my clan, we can do a lot. Think of what Kakashi can do, all those memories that he showed you with his sharingan."

"Sasuke showed me fake memories," she pointed out.

"He created fake visions, he can do that, a lot is possible."

"So, I should believe everything?" Sakura questioned.

"No, when Kakashi tells you he got lost on the road of life, it's an excuse." Ino shook her head.

Sakura thought about it. "That's deep."

"No, that's Kakashi." Ino laughed. "He's just late all the time. Everyone can tell when he's lying."

Sakura smiled awkwardly.

"You can tell when I'm lying too," Ino added. "Although I prefer the term 'bending the truth to provoke an amusing response or to make a point'."

"Right." She rolled her eyes. "Maybe I'll read a book on spotting liars."

"Or you could have a little bit more of a social life and figure it out for yourself, instead of cooping yourself up in your house and reading all day, continuously stressing about your currently misplaced memories."

She had been a bit stressed lately. In fact, she had been stressed all the time. Even with Naruto, the moment she began to think, the fun drained away and was replaced by disappointment and a need to improve. She sighed again.

Ino stood up and headed to the door. "There's no point living life chasing the past, Sakura, especially since you may never get it back."

She swallowed. That was serious coming from Ino.

Ino opened the door and said, "A drunk Naruto is fun. Here take this, go cheer up your girlfriend. Good luck though, she's cooking."

Sakura glanced up at Naruto's name. She wondered how long he'd been stood at the door.

He nodded awkwardly at Ino and accepted an unopened bottle of sake before watching the girl exit the apartment.

"Hey, Naruto." Sakura smiled up at him, gesturing for him to join her on the sofa.

Naruto shut the door and walked over to her slowly, he placed the sake bottle on the coffee table and look at her seriously. "What's wrong, Sakura-chan?"

"Nothing's wrong." She shook her head. "Ino suddenly got serious on me. I'm a little shocked really."

He smiled. "If Ino's serious with you, Sakura, I'm sure she has a point. What was it?"

"That I need to loosen up a little and have some fun," she replied, shrugging. "And stop trying so much with my amnesia..."

Naruto was silent for a moment. "I agree. We don't want you to stress over it."

"Everyone else seems to be doing just that," she pointed out. "I feel everyone's disappointment."

"They're only disappointed that you're unhappy, we want to help you because you want it so much. I'd rather you happy though, Sakura-chan, any day, I'd take that over any other option."

She looked him in the eyes and he looked back. He was being completely honest with her, she could tell he really meant that. She didn't quite know what to say back, so she smiled and put away her medical book before pointing at the large cookbook on the table. "How about we have a little fun?"

* * *

><p>"What was this again?" Naruto asked, peering down at his...dinner.<p>

"Chicken something." She grimaced, poking her own slightly squishy meal. "I don't think I cooked it right, I wouldn't eat-Naruto!"

Naruto had already stuffed his mouth full. She watched his face as he chewed slowly before swallowing and looking back at his plate. "It's not half bad."

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow. She tentatively took a bite of her own food before instantly choking at the taste, smell and texture of her meal. Naruto patted her on the back until her coughing subsided, she looked back up at him. "That's absolutely awful."

Naruto grinned. "But it was made by you, so I like it!"

"You're kidding," she said in disbelief. "You can't like me that much."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and gave her a shy smile.

She studied him seriously. He was awkward, he was just as she'd come to know him – a sweet, awkward, slightly idiotic, yet very kind friend.

"What is it? Is there something on my face?" he mumbled, rubbing around his mouth with his sleeve.

"When I first woke up in hospital..." She trailed off, trying to find the right words to say. "You were so...sure of yourself - and of me."

Naruto didn't say anything. He looked as if he was trying to follow where she was going with this.

"You told me you loved me," she added quietly. "Yet since then... I just wondered if your feelings had changed, it's as if I'm no longer as meaningful to you, I don't know."

"You, not meaningful to me?" Naruto muttered before looking at her, his gaze full of affection. "You mean everything to me," he added quietly, seriously.

She swallowed, her mouth a little dry. "I see..."

"You were so unsure of yourself, so confused," he continued. "And it will always be my job to make you see just how special you are. You should know how amazing you are and all I wanted was for you to believe that. You're a popular medic ninja with extreme strength, everyone loves and respects you, you have tons of friends and you're the prettiest girl in the world."

She smiled up at him, unbelievably happy. He really did make her want to believe what he said.

"I mean every positive word I say about you, despite the fact I seem to offend you all the time, I don't mean anything negatively," he added sheepishly.

"So when you tell me I can't climb trees..." She trailed off, grinning childishly at him.

Naruto pouted at her with big round eyes. She immediately felt guilty, but she couldn't stop smiling, his sad expression cracked almost instantly and he beamed back at her.

Scooting closer to him on the sofa, she pulled him into and hug. "Thank you, Naruto, for everything."

Naruto hugged her back tightly. "I guess I was also less hesitant about telling you how I felt, since I thought there may have been less of a chance of you hitting me, you not having your memories and everything."

She pulled back and laughed at him. "You think if you said you love me, I'd hit you?"

He shrugged cutely.

Punching him playfully on the arm, she added, "You're an idiot."

He grinned.

She hoped that wasn't the real case, she didn't want him to be afraid of telling her how he felt. She'd become reliant on his feelings for her, he was there to constantly support her, she wasn't just going to turn him down or blow him off after everything he was doing for her. She thought he was funny when he spluttered over his words, but this time, he'd got it all right. She felt better, a lot better, the best she'd felt ever since she could remember things. He had an effect on her that she could no longer ignore, no matter whatever else she was going through at the same time.

"You mean everything to me too," she whispered sincerely.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.

Sitting up, she smiled at him. "And you'd better believe that...believe it."

_Believe it._

That phrase seemed to really fit Naruto, she looked at him closely, suddenly feeling a little odd, not understanding the emotion that washed over her – almost like all of this had all happened before.

There was a long silence, they stared at each other.

"I think the chicken's gone cold," she said, shaking her head to clear her thoughts.

"I'll still eat it." Naruto grinned.

"No you won't, I don't want to poison you," she replied seriously, really not wanting to take the risk by eating anymore of her cooked meal.

"Want to go out for ramen, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Yes." She grinned happily at him. "Yes I do."

Naruto cheered and jumped up.

She laughed and stood up also. Taking him by the arm, they headed to the door together. Their plates were left untouched, as well as the cookbook and one of the many medical books that she had been religiously clinging to over the past couple of weeks.

Not once that night did she worry about memory loss, or controlling chakra.

Sakura went to bed, for the first time, hoping to wake up the same as when she went to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

Thank you for all your get well soon messages, they were much appreciated! A month or so ago, I did send a message out to everyone following this story, or if you'd favourited it or reviewed it a few times (I don't know how to find out those who just follow me, I'm fairly new to this website, so sorry if you didn't know) meaning I sent out over 100 messages XD and spoke to quite a lot of you, which was cool. I've come to the conclusion that you are all incredibly nice people. Thanks to all of you who told me to update, sometimes I just need that bit of a push. I hope this wasn't too much of a disappointment after the long, long wait.

Thanks so much for 100 reviews! It made me happy and guilty at the same time. This has been my first uploaded multi-chapter story – it's ten times the amount of reviews I've gotten at least compared to my other stories.

I did struggle a little bit with this chapter, sometimes you just have to stop writing and go back to it the next day. You could say I still have a bit of writer's block concerning this, I don't quite know where to take it, it could go in many directions. Hearing your thoughts, as always, is very interesting – it either makes me feel predictable, or misleading XD. In other story news, for those who requested it, Awkward Friendship will be turned into a NaruSaku one-shot collection, the next story will be up soon, that was received extremely well. For those who follow my Sakura/Tsunade banter type short stories, there's one of them coming too. There is a lot to come of all sorts, but I'll still try and motivate myself with this story, of course.

I went back and read and re-edit this story before I uploaded this chapter – it was interesting reading the journey I've been on since the start, when I was back at college before my exams and then working towards this apprenticeship and waiting on my results. The 31st of March I posted this, nearly eight months. 2 chapters a month, I still want to improve that ratio!

Thank you for your patience, I apologise for the delay, you can tell me off if it gets too long you know, though I tend to put myself through a lot of guilt anyway XD.

If you're still with me... Thanks ever so much for reading! :).


	16. The Boy on His Own

**Amnesia**

Chapter 16: The Boy on His Own

* * *

><p>If there was one positive to having amnesia, it was reliving all sorts of 'first experiences' for a second time. Over the past couple of days, Naruto had been taking her out and about around Konoha, as well as to some places nearby, just outside the gates. It was like looking at her home from an outsider's perspective and she was learning to appreciate everything around her, things she likely used to take for granted. If she ever got her memories back, she would ensure she'd thank all the people that made this place tick, her friends especially. Konoha was a great place to live.<p>

Although it might just be a lot more fun because of her over-enthusiastic, idiotic tour guide. This time around, Naruto hadn't been explaining their past memories together at every new place they ventured, he'd let her experience it all afresh. As much as she wanted to know, she was enjoying herself a lot more from a new point of view. Hopefully Naruto wasn't getting too bored from going to the same places that he'd likely been to hundreds of times – places she'd likely been to hundreds of times too.

"The Academy!" Naruto announced, pointing at a large building before walking straight past it. "Next up, we have-"

"Wait." She stopped him, grabbing onto his arm. "Can't we go in or something? We've not stopped at any of the other places for such a short amount of time."

Naruto looked back at her and pouted. "Iruka-sensei will likely be teaching classes, we shouldn't disturb him."

Sakura studied her friend closely and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with this place, really?"

Naruto leant a little closer to her, as if telling her a secret, he murmured, "They try to teach you things."

She laughed. "Go figure. Not a fan of education then?"

"Oh, the horrors of school!" he shouted loudly as if in severe distress.

She shook her head, still smiling. She then looked about the area where they were, spotting a tree with a swing close-by. She started walking towards it. "OK, we won't go in for a lesson, but can we take a break here?"

Naruto shrugged and followed her, just happy they wouldn't go into the dreaded academy building. "Sure."

She sat down on the swing and smiled, like everywhere in Konoha, this was also a pretty place to be.

Naruto walked behind her and grabbed the rope of the swing in each of his hands before pulling it backwards.

She laughed as her feet came off the ground, before he pushed her forwards so she flew through the air, until gravity let her drop again. This was fun, even taking out the years she couldn't remember, it had been a very long time since she'd been pushed on a swing set.

"I used to sit on this all the time," he told her, pushing her into the air again.

"Oh?" She smiled at him over her shoulder. "Who used to push you?"

"Nobody," he answered plainly.

"Nobody?" she repeated, a bit confused.

"I just sat on it."

As she next came down to ground level, she placed her feet on the floor, bringing herself to a stop.

Naruto caught the ropes but didn't push her again. "Sakura-chan?"

Why did nobody ever push Naruto on the swing? Was he sat over here on his own all the time? Standing up, she turned around and smiled at him. "Your turn," she told him.

"My turn?" He raised an eyebrow, surprised. "You don't have to push me, Sakura-chan."

"Well I want to. Sit."

Nodding, he walked around the swing and sat down.

She pulled back the ropes before pushing him into the air. He didn't seem all that cheerful anymore. "Don't worry," she broke the small silence. "You're not _that _heavy."

A small, light laugh escaped his throat, although it didn't last long. She wasn't too sure what was upsetting him, but she decided that she hated seeing him sad. She'd be a little worried if it was actually the thought of being so close to school that made him upset, but he just seemed so...serious? It didn't look like he was going to tell her either.

"You're not afraid of being pushed on swings or something else that I don't know about, are you?" Sakura questioned.

"No, why?" Naruto replied.

He'd usually laugh at something like that...

"You don't seem too happy," she said softly.

"I'm always happy when I'm with you," he answered.

"Oh yes, I can hear the joy in your voice," she added sarcastically. She didn't push Naruto when he came back down again, instead she walked around until she was stood in front of him. He stopped himself with his feet. He didn't look as happy as usual either, she noted. "What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing." Naruto smiled weakly.

"I feel like I've done something to upset you," she added quietly, letting out a small sigh.

"No!" His eyes widened. "I...I was just thinking."

"About?"

"The past."

"My past?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"No, mine."

She nodded, unsure of whether she should push for more or not. If he didn't want to tell her...

"You said you liked me as a child, did you really?" he asked suddenly.

She choked, she wasn't prepared for that, nor did she know what to say. Walking passed him again, she sat on the grass nearby. He looked around and she tapped the ground next to her. Naruto got up and walked over also, leaving the swing swaying behind him, he sat by her side.

"Let's see..." she began slowly, looking at him in thought. "What did I think of little Naruto..."

Naruto watched her closely.

"I guess, I was curious."

"Curious?" he mumbled. "Why?"

"I saw you about a lot," she said quietly before adding, "you were always the boy on his own."

He nodded.

She thought back to all her early memories of Naruto: in the fields, alone, in the streets, alone, even amongst throngs of people he had always be on his own.

"For a while, I was on my own too." Sakura gave him a small, weak smile. "If I had been more confident, then maybe I would have had the courage to come and talk to you - that and eventually, Ino came and adopted me as her friend... But you...my mother said she wouldn't let me talk to you anyway. I don't know why."

Naruto's breath hitched and he lowered his head. "I do."

"Why's that?" she asked curiously.

"It was for your own safety," he mumbled.

Sakura raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Yes, because I'm sure a four or five year old boy is extremely dangerous."

Naruto raised his head again to look her in the eyes. Her own eyes widened, he was so serious, she didn't understand.

"When I was a baby," Naruto placed a hand over his stomach, "I had a demon fox sealed away inside of me."

Sakura stared at him blankly, was this a 'believe your friends even if what they were saying seemed completely unrealistic' moment? "Huh?"

"The village was attacked, my father saved Konoha by sealing Kurama inside of me," he reiterated.

Sakura frowned slightly. "That's barbaric."

"It had to be done," Naruto pointed out.

"Not that." She shook her head. "That everyone treated you so badly afterwards, the way people looked at you, you were just a child."

Naruto shrugged. "People were scared that the seal would break and I'd lose control."

"Still, it was very unfair." Her frown increased.

He smiled. "It's okay now, I am in control and people trust me."

Sakura nodded. "Yes, I still completely trust you... That fox demon must be really small though, to fit inside of you."

Naruto's smile widened and he looked amused. "He's gigantic."

"I'm sure you wouldn't let this fox hurt anybody from Konoha anyway," she added.

Naruto's smile fell again and he lowered his head. "I have done."

Her eyes widened.

"I hurt you," he closed his eyes, his voiced pained, "when we were on a mission, searching for Sasuke, I...lost control."

Sakura looked up at the sky and hummed. "Now why do I have more difficulty believing that, than believing the fact you're the home to a giant fox?"

He shrugged and she looked back at him. Now he was upset again and more so than before - what made it worse was that it was involving her but she couldn't remember the event, so she couldn't console him. "What happened?" she asked softly.

"I hit you, messed up your arm," he mumbled.

"It could have been worse," she said softly.

He grimaced.

"I do forgive you... How long ago was it?"

"A couple of years," Naruto said quietly. "But I'll never forgive myself for hurting you."

"I forgive you," she repeated.

"You don't remember it," he pointed out.

"That doesn't matter." She shook her head. "I _know _you. Why do I feel like it wasn't your fault?"

Naruto shook his head.

"It wasn't your fault," she said with confidence. "I know it."

He smiled weakly.

"OK, how about you make it up to me?" She pushed herself up off the ground and held out her hand towards him.

"How?" He looked up at her, his eyes wide, he reached up and took her hand.

Sakura pulled him up and grinned. Linking her arm with his, she began to pull him away. "Take me out for lunch."

"I don't think that quite makes up for it," he replied with a small smile.

"Fine." Sakura shrugged. "You can take me out for lunch _twice_."

Naruto shook his head, but his smile widened.

"No? You don't want to?" She snorted and unlinked her arm from his.

"No! Sakura-chan!" Naruto pouted, reaching out his hand towards her as she walked away. "I do! Twice!"

Sakura looked over her shoulder to give him a teasing smile. "Good because I don't have any money with me."

Naruto laughed and jogged to catch up with her. "What if I don't either?"

"You might have to wash up then."

Naruto grinned. "If that is the price for taking you out for lunch, Sakura-chan, I'll wash up a million times."

She smiled and re-linked her arm with his. It seemed like she'd succeeded in lifting his mood again and in doing so, her own happier mood returned. She'd probably think a lot more about this darker conversation later on, but for now, it was lunchtime.

* * *

><p>Sakura and Naruto were sat enjoying their ramen lunch at Ichiraku's, when a male voice sounded behind them. "I heard you two were outside the academy earlier on."<p>

Naruto turned around and gave the man a sheepish smile. "We were just passing by, Iruka-sensei."

"Could you not have dropped in to say hello?" He raised an eyebrow and sat down by Naruto, looking around the boy to nod in greeting to Sakura. "Hello, Sakura, how are you feeling?"

"Hi Iruka-sensei." Sakura smiled politely in reply. "I'm well thank you. I did want to come in and see you, but Naruto wasn't so keen on the idea."

"Who doesn't want to come and visit their old teacher?" Iruka questioned, a little hurt.

"I think he was more worried he'd have to stay for a lesson," she added, grinning.

Iruka laughed. "Like I could ever get him to do that."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Hey, Iruka-sensei, with my memory being a bit fuzzy and all, will you tell me a few things about the academy days?"

"I don't see why not." Iruka shrugged. "About you?"

"No." Sakura grinned. "About Naruto."

Iruka smirked. "Gladly."

* * *

><p>"Worst student ever," Iruka continued his amusing, semi-rant about Naruto's academy days. "So many times I turned my back and he was out the window. Terrible he was, loud, disrespectful, all the time…"<p>

Sakura laughed, she was finding this hilarious. Naruto, however, was sulking in-between them.

"Nothing has obviously changed, he wouldn't even come and say hello to me!" Iruka shook his head. "Now you, Sakura, you were a good student. You were very clever, always revised, passed all your tests with flying colours. I don't think Naruto passed one written exam."

She laughed again.

"I did too!" Naruto whined. "I passed one."

"Really?" Iruka questioned, not believing it.

"Yes." Naruto nodded. "You got Sakura-chan up to the board to explain some hand seals, then we did a test on it the lesson after. I got them all right! I remembered what she said."

"Ah…I just thought you cheated." Iruka smiled affectionately at him.

Naruto lowered his head and Sakura looked at him sympathetically, but she still couldn't hide her amusement.

"I could never quite prevent you from trying to impress Sakura," he said, shaking his head. "She did quite a good job of that herself actually."

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"I could try the 'Sakura approach' but I'd probably get done for child abuse," Iruka added teasingly.

Sakura lowered her head. Was she really that harsh to Naruto as a child? Hadn't he gone through enough without her adding to his troubles?

Naruto noticed her shift in mood and nudged his old teacher. "You know, Iruka-sensei, I need your help."

"Oh?" The man raised an eyebrow.

"I may end up paying for this date by washing up."

"Date?" Iruka grinned.

Sakura looked up at her 'date' and raised an eyebrow.

Naruto swallowed nervously, hoping she wouldn't hit him.

Iruka smiled at her. "I guess I could offer to pay for two of my old students-"

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto called out before standing up and pulling her by the arm, running off as quickly as possible.

"Wait, I didn't…" Iruka sighed and shook his head. He signalled for the bill, smiling to himself. _Kids._ However, when he received the bill, his mouth dropped open – had the prices gone up or had Naruto managed to eat twice as much ramen as he used to? It was likely the latter. He might end up washing up too.

* * *

><p>After Sakura and Naruto's speedy getaway from Ichiraku's, they had run into Ino, Shikamaru and Choji. Her female friend was quick to ask them out for a drink or three and since they had nothing else to do, they joined the three ninja in a bar.<p>

"Naruto was terrible," Sakura told the people around their table. "He just fogged off our bill onto Iruka-sensei and you should've seen how much he ate."

"Oh, he should be used to it." Ino waved her hand dismissively. "He always used to buy Naruto ramen."

"That's nice of him." Sakura smiled. "From what he was saying though, it didn't sound like he was all too fond of Naruto."

"He was an awful student to have." Ino laughed.

Sakura hummed, it certainly sounded like that.

"You were such a goodie-goodie though, Forehead." Ino rolled her eyes.

Sakura frowned, it did sound like that too…

"You used to go after school for one-on-one private study sessions," the blonde added.

What? Now it didn't sound like she was _that_ bad. Everyone was silent as they watched Sakura stare at Ino for a few moments.

"You're lying," Sakura concluded.

"Way!" Ino cheered. "We're getting the old Sakura back, you're getting good."

"You know, Ino," Sakura snorted. "I shouldn't have to work out if you're teasing me or not all the time, you could just tell me the truth."

"Where's the fun in that?" Ino laughed. "It's hilarious when you go along with something for ages before figuring out it was a joke, although it backfires sometimes..."

"Usually against me," Naruto mumbled.

Ino shrugged.

"You know, I wasn't the only one sneaking out of windows, Sakura-chan," Naruto informed her before pointing at the other two males on the table.

"You two did too huh?" Sakura asked.

"Not as much as Naruto," Choji said, smiling.

"It was rare, but occasionally I would," Shikamaru added.

"Yeah it was rare because you were just too lazy to try," Ino said to her friend. "You got caught sleeping all the time though."

Sakura laughed. The 'good old days' sure did sound entertaining. Everyone had come a long way, from childish boys sneaking out the back of the classroom, to the successful ninja sat around the table today. Even without remembering all these events, she could certainly enjoy her time with her friends.

She looked at Naruto, he really had come a long, long way from the boy on his own to a 'village hero' she'd heard. He really had matured.

"Since you already skipped out on one bill today, I think you could get this one," Shikamaru suggested to the blond.

"No way, Shika!" Naruto shot back. "You're the highest rank here! You pay!"

Or semi-matured. Sort of.

"Are you not going to offer to pay for, Sakura?" Ino asked him.

Naruto frowned. "Of course, but not-"

"Great." Shikamaru clapped his hands and stood up. He smiled at her before turning around and smartly leaving the bar.

"Thanks, Naruto," Choji added as he followed his friend out.

"I'll see you soon, Sakura, my house, remember?" Ino told her before turning and waving over her shoulder. "Have fun, you may as well make this into a date now!"

Sakura shook her head before glancing at Naruto. "I guess we got beaten at our own game."

Naruto shrugged. "We really will be washing up."

She laughed. "I could run home and get some money. I don't know why I didn't think to bring any."

Naruto smile at her. "No, Sakura-chan, I've got it, I can afford to pay."

"Ino likes the expensive drinks," she informed him.

Naruto raised an eyebrow before looking at the drinks menu on the table, searching for the drink the loud medic had consumed. He grimaced before smiling again. "I can afford it, just."

"Why are you so low on money?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

Naruto shrugged. "I've not had many missions lately."

"Is that because you've been spending all your time with me?"

Naruto grinned. "I don't know, but it's been worth it."

She smiled before suggesting, "Or maybe it's because you eat out all the time, you eat a lot of ramen, that's got to add up over time."

"That's also worth it," he added.

She laughed. "I'd offer for you to come over to mine more, but you know what my cooking is like."

"Also worth it," he repeated.

Sakura looked up at him and she held his gaze. They sat there for a while, content.

"You know," she began. "For all you went through as a child and for how…cheeky you used to act, you really turned out well."

Naruto grinned. "Thanks, Sakura-chan."

"I mean it," she continued. "You're great."

"Are you trying to distract me so you can run out the door when I turn to pay?" He laughed.

Frowning slightly, she hit him on the arm. "No, I was being serious, idiot."

He continued to grin at her. "I always knew you'd turn out great."

She bit her lip to stop herself smiling. "Well, for how great we both are, we're not very rich."

Naruto laughed again. "True, we should have been mastermind criminals instead."

"Evil doesn't suit you," she replied with a shrug. "I think I could be scary though."

Naruto hummed in agreement and when she raised an eyebrow at him his eyes widened. "You're not scary, Sakura-chan!"

"Well that's debatable, she can be very scary depending on how you behave, Naruto," Yamato joined in their conversation. He smiled at them and sat down at the table with them, his own drink in hand.

Sakura shrugged before smiling politely at her teacher. "Hey, Captain Yamato..."

* * *

><p>Yamato wasn't that surprised when both Sakura and Naruto suddenly ran for the door. What did surprise him, when he went to pay for his two teammates, was the fact that they seemed to have managed to consume about twenty alcoholic drinks between them - neither of them had appeared to be drunk. Sighing, he pulled out his wallet. Good job ANBU paid well.<p>

* * *

><p>Sakura laughed as they exited the pub. "We're terrible, I feel so bad."<p>

"Nonsense, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned. "Our team owe you, the amount of time you've spent healing us all, they should be offering to buy you food."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you skipping out on paying also?"

Naruto cleared his throat. "Well, I'm with you…"

"That makes it OK then?"

"…Yes."

She smiled at him and linked her arm with his as they walked down the road. "Who are we inviting out for dinner then?"

Naruto thought about it. "Maybe Kakashi! No, he's never paid for us before… Lee! No, he's still trying to give us green spandex suits, uhh, Sai! No…"

Sakura listened to the boy babble on, smiling to herself. Today, she'd learnt a lot about her teammate. A lot of it she'd never imagined to be true (and quite a lot of it, she could have guessed) but overall, her opinion of him hadn't changed a bit. If anything, she was only more proud of him and glad they were so close.

Over the past few months, she hadn't been sure of many things, her word may no longer be as credible as it used to be - but there was one thing she was certain of:

She wasn't going anywhere. The boy on his own, would never be on his own ever again.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

Hello! It's Christmas! It was a push just to get this up – but I did it! You all deserved it :D. This is my Christmas present to you, sorry it's so short and…meh, I could have sent you all socks or something instead. I do have a lot more ideas for this now, but if I'd written any more it wouldn't have had such a nice place to end it. It's potentially going to get more dramatic and I wanted to end it on a happy high.

My computer has recently been fixed after it broke a couple of months ago, which contained a document with all my ideas for Amnesia, as well as now, some pre-written parts for me to write around. I wrote this on my laptop last night and then went to bed and continued writing it on my iPhone and then this morning and this afternoon I finished it on my laptop. It's crazy how long it can take to write something so short.

I've been very, very busy recently and I'm working tomorrow, hopefully I'll get to go home earlier, it's Christmas Eve after all! Then I'm off until the 2nd of January, so just over a week's holiday :D I'll hopefully be able to get some writing done then.

Thank you very much for 101 follows and 70 favourites. Your support is always appreciated :). I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, or to be more universal, Happy Holidays! I look forward to uploading a lot more for you in 2013.

Thanks for reading!


	17. Knowing and Feeling

**Amnesia**

Chapter 17: Knowing and Feeling

* * *

><p><em>"Naruto! I'll bring Sasuke back for you."<em>

When Sakura first woke up, the fragments of her dream still sharp enough in her mind, her first thought wasn't '_I dreamed a__memory'_, it was '_I knew it'_. Then she noticed that her clock was chiming. The time was 9:07. It was a strange time for her alarm to go off. It had probably been beeping for a few minutes, but the noise had not been enough to wake her from her sleep - which she was glad of.

Pleased, she threw off her bedcovers and clambered out the bed, excited for what the day would hold for her. She was meeting Naruto today, like she did every day, and not much else had occupied her recent thoughts. It didn't feel like a bad thing either. Why would it be? She didn't feel like she was making any progress with her amnesia issue, but she wasn't currently feeling sad about that fact. Naruto was accepting her, even without her memories and abilities. If she was happy, he was happy, and that feeling was mutual.

Sakura almost skipped to the bathroom. She was already happy so she couldn't wait to meet Naruto. He usually made her happier, the moment she saw him. After they had been too indecisive over who they could drag out to dinner (and conveniently forget their money), Sakura had suggested they go back to her house to eat. After all, they'd already had ramen once that day.

While he didn't mind having it several times a day, it wasn't exactly healthy or efficient money-wise. She wouldn't admit that she didn't mind either. She assumed she'd eaten it enough times with him over her lifetime to have acquired a taste for it. They had a quick microwave meal, as she'd given up on cooking for now.

At the moment, she didn't even remember what they had to eat specifically, but she was likely too fixated on who she was eating with to really take note of what they had for dinner. She did remember that they were meeting today, though. For once, when she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she smiled at herself. It was going to be a good day. She could feel it.

* * *

><p>Sakura was bursting to tell Naruto about her dream, but she had to find him first. This was proving to be harder than she hoped it would be. She had made her way to his apartment only to find that he'd already left for the day. They should have decided a meeting point and time. Where did they usually meet? She shook her head, making a mental note to discuss it with him later.<p>

If in doubt, ask Tsunade or Ino. Both medics seemed to enjoy sharing their opinion on her and Naruto, so she trusted they could find him for her. They did always claim to know about him.

At least the Hokage was easy to find. As Sakura reached her mentor's office, she barely stopped herself from running. She wanted to find Naruto and get the day started.

Knocking the door and opening it, she greeted the sannin cheerfully. "Morning, shishou. Have you seen Naruto?"

Tsunade raised her head from reading a collection of papers and books on her desk to look at her apprentice. "Sakura, how are you feeling this morning?"

"Great," Sakura answered curtly, before repeating, "Have you seen Naruto?"

Tsunade smiled at her. "Yes I have. Will you be busy today?"

"I was just going to meet him and hang out." Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "Where is he?"

"Just hang out? Will you not be memory chasing?"

Sakura shrugged again. She didn't really want this conversation right now. All she wanted to know was where Naruto was currently. They hadn't planned any amnesia battle tactics for today; they were just going to have some fun. Recently, that's all they had really done. Go on tours around Konoha, go out for meals, talk to each other, and share their thoughts on the world... Being with him had freed her of her stress and worries. Their natural relationship brought out her positivity.

"This is a new approach is it? Not trying, seeing what comes naturally?" Tsunade inquired, bringing a hand up to hold her chin. "Interesting."

Sakura shuffled from foot to foot. Perhaps she should have asked Ino. At least the blonde never discussed her amnesia with her. She would much rather be questioned about romance and her feelings right now. She wasn't quite sure what had changed about her, but something definitely had. It was likely just that she needed to tell Naruto about this dream. It was important to her that she relieved him of his unneeded guilt. He had been so good to her; she was trying every day to return the favour.

The Hokage studied her closely, as if watching her inner-mind work as the silence extended between them. "…You've not actually been trying?"

"I'm sorry," she began sheepishly, lowering her head.

She was supposed to be trying wasn't she? It was just that she felt like she was getting nowhere with her abilities. When she was with Naruto, all she wanted to do was live in the moment. Her mental issue didn't matter to him, and increasingly, it wasn't bothering her as much either.

Her mentor smiled comfortingly at her. "Sakura, I'm not angry. This is good for you. Less stress."

Sakura looked back up at the Hokage, finding some consolation in the understanding words. "Are you sure?"

Tsunade nodded. "Of course, go and have fun. He's waiting for you on the roof."

Sakura grinned, pleased with the blonde's opinion of her recent activities and at the knowledge of Naruto's whereabouts. One benefit of talking to Tsunade instead of Ino was that the conversation was likely to be at least three hours shorter.

She observed Tsunade push some papers on her desk aside, casting the pile an almost wishful glance. As she turned around and opened the door, she shouted happily over her shoulder, "Thanks!"

She only seemed to receive a small sigh as a reply, but raced towards the roof, her spirits not dampened.

* * *

><p>Sakura effortlessly ran up the stairs, two at a time, to the top of the Hokage's Tower. She continuously enjoyed that physical actions came naturally to her. She was even tempted to challenge Naruto to a race.<p>

She thought back to when she had first challenged him to a test of speed and how effortlessly he had overtaken her. She felt a lot more confident in her ability now though, and she knew how to beat him if she was too far behind. Trip: this time knowing full well that she would never actually fall to the ground.

She realised how much had changed since the race down the hillside. She knew Naruto so much better now, her fondness for him only growing stronger.

With great enthusiasm, she reached the top of the stairs and ran to push open the closed doorway ahead of her. The light rays from the sun lit up the corridor behind her and she squinted until the person she'd been searching for – for what seemed like hours – came into focus. He was leaning over the rooftop's railings, his hair blowing gently in the wind.

"There you are!" Sakura exclaimed.

At the sound of her voice, he turned around and grinned. "Sakura-chan!"

"I've been looking for you everywhere," she told him as she walked up to stand by his side.

Balancing her arms on the rail, she pushed herself up onto her tiptoes to look at the ground below. It didn't look like he had been observing anything in particular. He wouldn't need to. Konoha was a beautiful place. The roof, overlooking the village, had a calming effect on her. They should start meeting here. It was a great spot.

Naruto looked at her oddly for a moment. His words were slow as he said, "I thought we were meeting here."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you say that," she apologised sheepishly, giving him a sideways glance.

If she had heard him tell her that yesterday, it would have saved her all the extra time this morning, and from a deflating conversation with her mentor. However, she would not allow the delay to put her mood down. Her excitement levels had continued to build during her search for him. She was almost buzzing with anticipation of what they would do together. Even though she only saw him yesterday, she felt like she hadn't seen him in a long time.

"You said that..." He trailed off before reciting, "Meet on the roof, nine in the morning."

Sakura tilted backwards and rested her feet fully on the floor again. She turned to him and reached up with her arm to scratch her head. It rested there for a moment as she tried to remember saying those things. "I..."

Naruto's expression turned serious. He studied her expression closely, as if looking for some kind of hint that she was joking with him.

She shook her head and smiled at him. "Sorry, Naruto, I was probably tired last night." She waved her hand dismissively. "I'm just having a moment. Of course we were meeting here."

Truthfully, she didn't remember saying that but she didn't want to focus on a small blip in her concentration the night before. She wanted to get on with the day and have a good time.

Naruto apparently accepted this, for he nodded and smiled at her again.

"I did have something to tell you though," she added, her smile widening and becoming more natural.

Naruto listened carefully as she told him about her dream. His face became serious once more. She tried to explain it with wild hand gestures and vivid detail to prove to him that it was real.

"I ran at you," she concluded seriously, "so you're not allowed to feel bad about it, because I know it wasn't your fault."

By the end of her speech, to her relief, he looked partly amused. "All right, Sakura-chan."

"I'd do it again, if need be, if it somehow worked."

"You'll never have to do it again."

They smiled at each other.

"I know I won't," she told him honestly. "What would you like to do today?"

"Go to the library, like we agreed?" he suggested.

The library? That wasn't fun for them to do together. Had she really agreed to it the night before? She trusted that Naruto wasn't messing with her. She must have been drunk last night, she concluded, that would explain everything. She felt awake, and not at all hung over, but this was an obvious off-day. She didn't want to worry about it and she certainly didn't want to worry her best friend.

"You do like the library," Naruto said in puzzlement.

Sakura took note of his lack of enthusiasm and planned to use it to her advantage. "I bet you don't," she chimed.

"It bores me," Naruto admitted.

"Then let's do something else. How about a race? I want to beat you at something."

Naruto laughed. "We already raced, Sakura-chan."

"Well I want to beat you again."

"I thought I won," he said thoughtfully.

"I definitely won."

Sakura wondered briefly how much Naruto was prepared to banter with her. He very rarely disagreed with her, or challenged her plans. The only exception to this rule so far was him denying any negative thoughts or potentially self-harming tactics she had suggested they try.

"You played dirty," he told her in good humour, no annoyance whatsoever in his expression.

"You liked it."

Naruto laughed again, but his cheeks tinted with a light blush. "Yeah."

"So let's try again." She pulled him back to the roof doors. "We should meet here from now on. The view is beautiful."

Naruto stopped walking behind her and she turned to look at him. She was confused as his face contorted with concern. "You said that last night, Sakura-chan."

"Last night? We were at my house last night, Naruto," she answered. She rubbed her forearm but was unaware of the nervous gesture. She wanted to retreat from this situation. It was like he was accusing her of lying.

"We were at your house two nights ago. Last night we were here. You said the view was beautiful, and that we should meet here from now on."

He didn't break their eye contact and it was difficult for her not to look away. His almost tangible worry punctured her happy mood and her heart sank. Naruto should never be sad.

Sakura was flabbergasted and completely lost at what he was telling her, but that didn't touch her undeniable desire to put a smile back on his face.

_Don't worry, Naruto. Don't look at me like that. _

Her eyes flickered ever so slightly from his eye level to his nose. She didn't want to lie to him, but she didn't want him to be hurt by her confusion.

"That's right. This morning I overslept and I'm still not fully awake. It's not my day today. Let's just get on with it."

He didn't move.

"Please."

"Okay," he replied eventually, allowing her to pull him once again in the direction of the stairs.

* * *

><p>They travelled back along the Hokage Tower corridors. Sakura tried to pull herself back together. This morning she felt like nothing could go wrong with the world and now she was feverishly telling herself that it was still the same case. Everything was fine. They'd have a great time today and forget about the whole roof incident.<p>

On the way, Shizune crossed their paths. The older medic had a large stack of papers in her hand and looked to be heading towards the Hokage's office, which they had just passed. Everything was normal there.

"Sakura, Naruto." She greeted them with a warm smile.

"Hi, Shizune-san." Sakura returned the smile.

Naruto nodded at the medic. He seemed out of it. He'd been quiet since the stairs and was acting awkward. He trailed slightly behind her all the way.

If he really didn't want to go along with her new plans, she hoped he would say so. He did whatever she wanted to do usually.

Perhaps she had upset him. Forgetting their meeting spot and activity... She was late too. He had probably been waiting for a while.

She hoped he wasn't mad. She could let him win their race to make up for it, then act impressed, then take him for ramen. She could officially apologise too. She had a feeling she didn't do that enough.

In any way possible, she was going to fix this.

"Did Tsunade show you that research?" Shizune asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Research?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. "What research?"

Research on how to make a certain blond boy (who was usually a bundle of enthusiasm), happy again, would be useful to her. However, she highly doubted any kind of research like that was being referred to and so she wasn't curious about it.

"She's been working on something for a while now…" Shizune trailed off. "I thought it was ready to show you a couple of days ago."

"She's not said anything," Sakura informed her flatly.

"Oh."

"Do you want to see it now, Sakura-chan?" Naruto turned to her, a flicker of excitement in his eyes.

"Of course," she answered, although it sounded slightly half-hearted to her own ears. Even though it had managed to put a spark back into her friend, she still didn't feel the need to see this research. If anything, she was wary of what it might be.

Naruto grinned and grabbed her wrist with his hand, pulling her back along the corridor to the door they had come past.

When he reached the Hokage's office, he didn't knock and barged straight into the room. "Granny! We're here to see the research."

"Research?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, looking up from a piece of paper she was reading.

"Yes!"

Tsunade hummed thoughtfully before placing the sheet of paper onto the pile by her side. "Tell me something first, Sakura."

Sakura swallowed. She feared the sannin knew something. Tsunade had been watching her closely today, her eyes studying her every move.

Sakura's heartbeat began to quicken. She looked over her shoulder briefly to see that Shizune had followed them in and shut the door.

No escape. _Not that I need to escape_, she argued to herself, _I've done nothing wrong_.

"I know today is a day off from searching for medical solutions, as was yesterday, but what is your current plan in general? Are you trying to remember at all?"

"I am trying to remember. This is a new strategy I came up with...don't try. Trick myself into remembering," she explained, standing up straighter.

"That's what I thought," Tsunade replied casually.

Sakura's confidence increased as she realised she wasn't going to be accused of anything. Now was her chanced to turn the attention away from her. "But Shizune-san told me you had some research for me to look at."

The Hokage's eyes shifted to the mentioned medic, who smiled awkwardly back at her, before looking back at her apprentice. "Did she now?"

"Yes! Why didn't you show me?" Sakura pushed.

"Yeah! What gives?" Naruto questioned.

Tsunade ignored the boy and continued to fix her gaze on her apprentice. "Because you were happy not knowing."

It was obvious then. And it was true. All this trying and failing to recall memories or do ninja techniques had drained her emotionally. It hurt Naruto to see her fail, and she knew he was covering up his pain at her distress every time she couldn't do what she wanted to do. She didn't want to hurt him anymore.

Being happy, and spending time with him, had made him bright again. If she was happy, he was happy. She planned to be happy and she wanted him to be happy. She wouldn't deny that.

"How did you know?"

"Sakura, I've known you for a very long time. I know you. I can see what's happening."

Naruto looked at her and then back at the Hokage, not on the same wavelength as the females.

"I want to look at your research," Sakura insisted, trying to steer the conversation away from her again.

Even if she wasn't desperate to know, she was _interested_ to say the least - just look at how excited Naruto was. He was fidgeting, as if trying to speed their conversation up and get to the good part.

"For you?" Tsunade asked.

"Who else would it be for?" Sakura answered, resisting glancing at Naruto again.

"Naruto. Me. Your friends."

"Of course it's for them too...but I do want to read your research."

"I was going to show you eventually, but I was just studying your natural behaviour."

Sakura did always feel like the Hokage was psychoanalysing her every move. It was like there was a superior motive to all of Tsunade's actions and words. There were hidden tests and she didn't know whether she was failing or passing them.

Honestly, it made her paranoid. "How do you mean?"

"You're physically improving," Tsunade said encouragingly, but then she added, "And mentally regressing, it seems."

Sakura pouted, trying to argue her case. "But I've learnt a lot of things, facts about all sorts. Yes, I feel like I could run marathons, but I've loved reading about lots of different topics and understanding what's around me."

She just wanted a break from all that. What was the big deal? Everybody seemed to be hiding things from her today, not telling her everything, and she was glad about it for once. She was still holding onto her plans for the rest of the morning.

"Maybe you've damaged your memory capacity also. It would make sense," Tsunade continued, as if narrating her thoughts out loud.

"What? I've not damaged my memory capacity," Sakura denied.

There was a long silence and Sakura tensed. She was uncomfortable, instantly defensive over the topic. It was as if everybody was eyeing her closely, staring at her, scrutinising her.

"Sakura…are you having memory issues?" Tsunade asked her seriously, her gaze not moving from her apprentice's face.

"Memory issues?" Sakura took in a sharp intake of breath, faking a short, amused laugh. She then turned more serious. "_No_."

The Hokage didn't even blink.

Alternatively, Sakura wanted to close her eyes and wake up in bed. She was beginning to panic. Her heartbeat quickened further and her breathing became laboured.

"Do you remember last week? When I told you I have another new amnesia patient in the hospital?" Tsunade questioned.

No. She didn't remember that conversation, but if she denied it, Tsunade was going to tell her she had further memory issues! Naruto would be worried and she would upset him further.

"Yes."

Tsunade leant back in her chair and crossed her arms. She shook her head, as if in disbelief, and then said, "Sakura...I just made that up."

Sakura lowered her head in shame. She could feel the disappointment from the sannin. She was a disappointment. She had a stupid brain issue and she couldn't even admit it to herself. She still didn't want to admit it to herself.

She was fine. She wanted to be fine.

She couldn't regress any more than she already had. It wasn't fair.

"You're having short-term memory loss aren't you?"

Yes. She was. Nevertheless, she didn't want to say it out loud.

"I don't know," she admitted quietly.

"I don't understand." Naruto looked at her and she couldn't look back at him. She couldn't even raise her head and meet her mentor's (potentially angry) gaze.

"Amnesia isn't just losing a set of memories and never remembering them again. It's brain damage, Naruto. There could be on-going issues or further deterioration of memory functions," Tsunade explained, her tone leaning towards sympathy.

The pair of them must be a sorry sight to see. Neither of them could do anything to fix the problem, despite how much they tried. She was trying to hide and deny it. He was trying to solve it when he knew nothing about her condition in detail. She doubted he even knew as much as he tried to tell her he did. Although, she did humour his theories and insist she was OK when she wasn't.

"I thought Sakura-chan was improving," Naruto said sadly, lowering his head.

"It could just be a bit of a blip." Sakura smiled at him and put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure I'll improve again. I've read about this happening before."

Naruto looked up at her again, more hopeful. "Really?"

She nodded encouragingly and he smiled back at her. She then stared at her mentor who looked at her with a raised eyebrow but said nothing.

Sakura frowned slightly, she didn't want the blonde upsetting Naruto, especially if this was just a little bit of de-progress. Even if the Hokage was right, Naruto didn't need to hear the negatives right now, he was so involved in her health and happiness. Bad things happening to her seemed to affect him a lot worse.

"Either way," Tsunade stated blankly, "we should have been monitoring you more closely. Amnesiacs don't usually have so much freedom. They're restricted to certain areas or kept in their comfort zone. You've been everywhere there is to go in Konoha and its outskirts."

Sakura frowned. "I don't want to be restricted."

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed, annoyed. "She's with me. She doesn't need to be restricted."

"I'd rather a medic be about." The sannin shrugged. "You know nothing of Sakura's condition, Naruto."

"Ino," Sakura mumbled, "she'll come to places with us."

The door opened and Ino strolled in. "I'm here! Where am I going?"

The blonde walked up to her right side. Naruto still stood tall on her left.

Sakura couldn't bring herself to be angry at her friend. If you're going to eavesdrop, pick a point where you can be helpful in the situation, and then it decreases the chance of being shouted at. It was a smart time of entry. If Sakura could stay with Ino, she could stay with Naruto too.

Tsunade shook her head. "Well she was supposed to see your father."

"Yeah, Forehead, you were supposed to get back to me on that. When are you actually going to come over?" Ino asked.

"Sorry," Sakura apologised sheepishly. "I…"

_Forgot_.

"Got pre-occupied with your boyfriend." Ino rolled her eyes. "I know, I know."

"My brain is having difficulty recalling recent events," Sakura told her quietly.

"Then I don't owe you money," Ino replied with a small smile.

"But, I'm improving in other ways, physically and-" She thought about it. "I'm remembering things through dreams."

"Dreams," Tsunade said sceptically.

Sakura nodded. "Yes, I know the things I've seen in my dreams are real."

"Sakura, there is a difference between knowing and feeling, dreams aren't reliable."

Sakura looked at Naruto briefly before saying confidently, "I know they're memories."

"I wish my dreams were real. I'd be married to a really good-looking guy by now," Ino added unhelpfully in an attempt to lift the mood.

"I had a dream I was married once," Naruto told them.

"Really?" Sakura turned her head sharply to look at her teammate, momentarily forgetting the seriousness of the conversation.

Naruto nodded. "Yes. The children looked great."

"Who were you married to?" Sakura pushed, subconsciously leaning closer to hear his answer.

"A pot of ramen," he answered with a grin.

Her shoulders and head slumped. She had an overwhelming urge to hit him. She shouldn't have been surprised.

"You were _so_ just jealous of a pot of ramen," Ino whispered in her ear.

Sakura shot her friend an annoyed look. Her fellow medic smirked in response.

"Well my dreams were real memories," Sakura concluded, more annoyed than upset now.

She would admit her short-term memory had been dodgy recently and that she may need a little bit of help. But she wasn't prepared to let go of her theory that she was successfully remembering events in her sleep. They had been so vivid, so scary and realistic. She couldn't let that go. She didn't want to be a liar. She told Naruto the truth and she knew it.

"If you say so," Tsunade answered flatly.

Sakura looked at her mentor before she looked at all the books and papers on her desk. "Amnesia research?"

The sannin nodded. "Yes, and Sakura research."

"Sakura research?" she repeated as she walked closer to the desk.

"Everything I've picked up on about your amnesia from what you've said and done."

Sakura nodded. "Spying isn't that bad, huh?"

Tsunade smiled. "Everything I do has a reason."

She wanted to rebuttal, but didn't feel like she was in the Hokage's good books at the minute and so passed up the opportunity.

"Okay."

Tsunade looked a bit disappointed - Sakura guessed anyway, she was having difficulty reading people today.

"Every method tried under the sun," Tsunade informed her, tapping the pile of paper.

So something there would surely be able to fix her problem. A flicker of hope chipped away at her current feelings of shame and embarrassment.

"Can I take it to read?"

"No, I'm going to keep it in the hospital, in case any medics would like to add more theories."

"You've been trying awfully hard," Sakura commented, a wave of fresh guilt washing over her.

"How hard you tried to begin with inspired us all," the Sannin answered.

_To begin with_.

Recently, she just...didn't care? No. That was the wrong way to put it. She didn't mind. She was happy and who knew who she was before she hit her head. Her friends seemed to like her, she sounded like a good person. But people liked her now. Naruto liked her now. She liked him now. This new problem was an issue though. It was going to hurt all her friends if she didn't sort it out.

"Can I fix my new, uh, temporary short-term memory loss?"

Tsunade shrugged. "We could do some tests, like we said we'd do all along anyway."

Sakura nodded.

"From now on, you'll always tell us the truth. Reporting accurately on your amnesia is of upmost importance."

Sakura nodded again.

"No lying?"

"I won't lie," Sakura answered, meaning it this time.

Tsunade settled a steady gaze on her again, letting her know that she couldn't get away with it if she tried. "Good. We will give you more of a structured routine. You can do some brain tests with me, learn a few things with Shizune like she promised you, we'll even teach you a few non-chakra fighting techniques...and don't worry. You will still have some time to spend with Naruto."

* * *

><p>The new schedule started straight away. They all walked out of the office together and stopped at a room along the corridor. She had not stepped foot in this room before. It had been cleared out, as if it had been prepared weeks earlier. The walls and floor mirrored the Hokage's office, yet instead of a desk, a simple table and chair set was in the centre of the room. Then they had got straight into the first test Tsunade had listed down, which involved her remembering a drawing and recreating it.<p>

"What does this prove?" Sakura grumbled, badly sketching out the image she had just seen before it was turned over and covered up.

"That your spatial awareness and visual memory is still good," Tsunade told her.

Sakura held up her poorly drawn flower.

Ino then held up the image she had drawn.

Sakura pouted. She had got it in the right place on the page, and the right size, but she couldn't draw a straight line with a ruler if she tried.

"And that my drawing ability sucks?"

"Still sucks," Ino corrected.

"Sakura-chan, try this," Naruto said, holding up his drawing.

"What is it?" she asked.

At least she was about as good as Naruto when it came to art. They could have got Sai in but then she would have been even more jealous and put off by her non-existent skill with a pencil. It was tough copying Naruto's drawing because it just looked like squiggles and spirals. Even someone with great memory wouldn't recall that image perfectly.

"A bowl of ramen," he replied with a pout. He then looked down and pointed at the squiggly lines on the paper in front of him. "These are the noodles, this is the pork and that's the miso. See?"

"Ah, I see." Sakura smiled at him.

He pulled out the piece of paper behind his 'bowl of ramen' and placed the new drawing on top. "And this one is Kakashi-sensei!"

She laughed. Kakashi was portrayed as a poorly-drawn circle with a line through it where she assumed his mask was. Then two wonky circles for eyes and wild spiky hair that looked more like lightning bolts striking his head. He didn't even attempt a body. It was an artistic way of looking at her teacher to say the least.

"That's worse than Sakura's drawing," Ino told him flatly.

"Sakura-chan's a good drawer!" Naruto defended.

Ino held up her friend's drawing to prove a point, but the badly-drawn flower did not put the boy off.

"That's a great flower," he commented, sounding like he truly believed it.

Ino shook her head.

"These little tests are just to see how your brain is getting on in general," Tsunade interrupted. "It's supposed to be shapes and scenes that you can try and remember to see if you can place them appropriately, not images you see every day, like bowls of ramen."

Naruto grinned before pulling out his next piece of paper. "How about this one?"

"What's that?" Ino asked, tilting her head to see it from a side angle in the hopes it would suddenly look better.

"It's a heart," Sakura answered for him, recognising its shape, despite its wobbly lines.

Naruto nodded, still grinning.

"Well you'd recognise his heart," Ino grumbled. "That's probably what yours looks like now, with all the ramen you've been eating."

"Want to go for ramen later, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Sure."

That's what she had been secretly hoping for all day.

"With what I had planned for today, it will probably be after tomorrow's tests that you can go out for ramen together."

Sakura tried not to seem disappointed. She looked at Naruto and suggested, "Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's great," he answered, smiling at her.

She smiled back.

"Naruto," Tsunade began, "would you fetch Shizune for me?"

"Okay." The boy nodded. He raced for the door. "Be back in a minute, Sakura-chan!"

There was silence when he had gone. Sakura looked at the other medics.

"What?"

"Are the two of you openly flirting now?" Ino questioned.

"No it's not flirting, Ino, I'm just happy being with him without dating him."

"But we're not." Ino frowned.

"Who's we?"

"Me and everyone else!"

Sakura shook her head before looking at the Hokage. "What now?"

"Shizune gives you a lesson on poisons, like you wanted."

"This is like school," Sakura said before quickly adding, "It's not bad though."

"Yet you're looking forward to home time?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura shrugged. "Naruto's really happy thinking he's helping me here."

"He did always used to distract her if he came along to a training session," Ino pointed out to the Hokage.

"True," Tsunade agreed with a short nod, "but she wasn't always looking forward to the date after the training rather than the training itself."

"It's not a date. It's just dinner."

"Can I come?" Ino asked.

Sakura didn't look too keen. "What happened to ramen being unhealthy for your heart?"

Ino shook her head. "All right. Have fun with your boyfriend."

"I'm kidding, of course you can come. It's not a date. Would you like to come too, shishou?"

"We don't go for ramen together, Sakura," the sannin informed her.

"Never?"

Sakura had begun to wonder how much socialising she did with her mentor outside of a usual training routine. Her relationship was very professional, which did make sense. Tsunade was an extremely busy Hokage after all. Sakura was very grateful for all the time her teacher had dedicated to helping her.

"We go for sake occasionally."

"Right, we can do that soon too," Sakura said with a nod.

She would like to talk to Tsunade about other things. Not medicine, or amnesia, or Naruto, just something different and carefree. She didn't know anything about the woman besides the obvious and what was in scripted medical literature. From medical theory books, many of which Shizune had given her, she had learnt that her mentor had a brilliant medical mind and vast knowledge of an impressive number of topics.

However, she knew nothing of the woman's personal life and nothing of their real relationship.

Ino laughed. "I kind of wish I could start this again."

"What?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Your whole amnesia issue. I could tell you anything and you'd likely believe it."

It would be nice to start again. Yet at the same time, she had been through so much, she wouldn't want to relive any of the frightening moments. She would relive her time with Naruto in a heartbeat though.

"Would you tell me all we've found out so far?"

Ino gave her a funny look. "No, I'd make you believe you were my personal slave."

Sakura was not amused.

"That I saved your life ten times and you feel like you owe me the world. And that you owe me money - which you do by the way."

"You probably owe me money, Ino," Sakura grumbled before leaning towards her mentor and whispering, "Does she owe me money?"

"You owe me alcohol," Tsunade answered with a smirk.

Sakura pouted. "Did you send Naruto out of the room just so you could gang up on me?"

"More so that I could get your real opinion on the task at hand."

Sakura looked up at her mentor.

Tsunade looked back at her with a straight face. "Are you up to this?"

"Yes."

"You do want to remember everything?"

"That's a silly question, shishou."

Tsunade looked at her closely. "If you say so. I couldn't guarantee results either way. With your short-term memory issue, I definitely wanted to do some tests."

Sakura lowered her head. She wanted the short-term issue sorted ASAP.

"Do you have a plan for if you never remember?" Tsunade asked with interest. "Continue to do tasks at the hospital is it?"

Sakura nodded.

"Then marry Naruto and become a housewife," Ino finished.

Sakura frowned. "No, I want to help people."

"As well as marry Naruto?"

"I'm too young. Besides, I've got a second life chance here-"

The door opened and Shizune and Naruto entered the room.

"I need some all-new purpose," Sakura continued, tapping her chin in thought.

"You could be a detective," Naruto suggested, jumping into the conversation and smashing any seriousness that it still held.

"Sure." Sakura nodded in agreement. "Play the amnesia card and get people to tell me all their secrets."

"I think I would be better at finding out clan secrets," Ino argued.

That was very true. Ino was one manipulative friend.

"What you don't know is that I'm only friends with you all to find out your clan secrets," Sakura said with a cheeky grin. "I don't have amnesia at all. I'm fooling you all."

"You did used to keep secrets," Ino replied seriously.

This caught Sakura's attention immediately. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Like what?"

"That you had feelings for your best friend."

Manipulative and evil. It was one thing to pair her up with Naruto when he wasn't in the room, but when he was stood right next to her! That was just cheeky.

"Don't think so highly of yourself, Ino!" Sakura frowned.

"Aren't I your best friend?" Naruto pouted.

Then again, most conversations between her and Ino always seemed to go straight over his head. She did wonder how someone so active in her life could be so dense regarding the matter.

Sakura stared at him in wonder and Ino continued to grin.

* * *

><p>Sakura and Shizune were settled down in the labs. The older medic rubbed an old blackboard clean with an eraser whilst Sakura made herself comfy on the stool parallel to her teacher.<p>

"We'll look at toxicology today, Sakura," Shizune said with a smile. "You've always liked the poison side to it."

"I like poisons?" Sakura said with uncertainty.

If she was asked about poisons now, yes it was an interesting and useful topic to be knowledgeable about, but to enjoy it? Was that not weird? She briefly thought back to her time trying to 'save her own life from a poison'. She had only felt panicked then. Although she would admit she felt a rush when she found the antidote recipe book and actually thought she would succeed. She would put that down to adrenaline though.

"You like antidotes. You're very skilled at finding them and you don't need to control chakra for all of it."

Sakura nodded enthusiastically. Something she could do without chakra! She had not thought about that issue recently. She had been distracted by trying to be happy, by trying to make Naruto happy.

Ironically, she had tried to forget her problem. By doing this, she had made it worse. She denied her obviously deteriorating memory and only hurt her friends. She still wanted to help people. It was just tough when she knew deep down that she should be doing so much better. With chakra, she could help so many more people in all sorts of ways.

At points, she felt like she could do more to help those around her. On other days, she believed trying to help would only harm. Her past life was important – it wasn't something to attempt when you were not fully qualified for the job. Sometimes she was purely distracted by Naruto.

Deep down, her instinct was to help people, but she worried about her blond teammate when he was not with her. She feared something bad would happen to him. He was so reckless. What if Sasuke heard he was alive?

Alternatively, she worried even when she was with him, because she couldn't protect him. She wanted her strength and her healing abilities back. She wanted everything back. But when she tried and failed repeatedly... She was torn between accepting her reality and challenging it.

Everyone wanted to help her. Her friends were so supportive and she didn't want to disappoint them. Tsunade said her determination at the start had spurred them all on, but surely they saw the truth. It had been months and she was getting worse.

Therefore she tried to hide it. She wasn't accepting it - that was too tough for her to handle. It was as if she had a realist on her left shoulder and a dreamer on her right. Her heart said help people. Her head said step back and don't mess anything up. Her damaged brain worked in circles and she was beginning to feel the drain. Her emotions were increasingly fragile and she was inwardly succumbing to the stress.

Naruto was the answer to that feeling. He made her unwind and relax. Even if everything wasn't okay, he nearly made her believe nothing was wrong at all. His positive persona and supportive nature were addicting. Then when she was alone, she remembered the girl he _loved_ was the part of her she couldn't remember. It was selfish of her to take him for granted and not try to be the person he pledged unfathomable loyalty to. He inspired her to help others, even if it was just helping a little bit. Yet selfishly, if she did remember her past memories, she feared that how she viewed Naruto would change.

Then the cycle started again. It was a repetitive loop of hope and helplessness. All she could do now is try everything her friends suggested. Try her best. If she failed, she would try and help others along the way, and try and make her friends happy even if she wasn't the Sakura Haruno they knew and loved.

"Too much stress isn't healthy," Shizune said, breaking Sakura out of her depressing thoughts. "It prepares your body for constant fight or flight. If you don't de-stress, it will exhaust you, and you'll make yourself ill."

"Is this to do with toxicology?" Sakura questioned, confused.

Shizune smiled at her. "No, but I want these lessons to be an escape from stress, Sakura. Focus on this instead of other problems, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good, because if Tsunade ever gives you a lesson, you'll need to be on your toes," the older medic warned.

"I know. You're not going to inject me with something and pretend I'm going to die are you?" she replied jokily.

"No, nothing that extreme," Shizune said, her face portraying the obvious disapproval of the Hokage's past experiment.

Sakura nodded. "Then I think I'm ready."

Shizune nodded back and simply wrote 'Toxicology' at the top of the blackboard, with white chalk she had been holding in her hand. "Toxicology is all around us. It's the study of chemicals and how they can cause harm, the study of poisons. As medics, we're particularly concerned about the antidotes."

"I should have brought a notepad," Sakura commented, wondering if she could remember all that she was about to learn – or any of it for that matter.

"I doubt you'll need it for your first lesson. This will only be basics. I'm sure you can understand this before I even tell it you. I trust your memory."

"That makes one of us," Sakura muttered.

"Too many bad memories can be a poison," Shizune replied, linking back to the subject at hand and away from her doubtful commentary. "Too much of anything is a poison, even too much of something good. That's why dosage is important in both antidotes and medical drug use in general."

The medic turned back around to write the word 'dosage' on the left-hand side, and then drew a line down the middle of the board, as she continued to speak. "To understand an antidote, you must first understand the poison. To start with, what do you think a poison will target?"

"A person's body?" Sakura attempted.

Shizune nodded and drew a line in the centre of the board. "What in a person's body?"

"Major organs?"

"Precisely, organs like the kidneys, the lungs, the liver, the heart and the nervous system." The medic began to list these organs in chalk, under the sub-heading 'organs' on the other side of the line. "Most of the time, with the people we meet, the intention is to kill. However, poison can just as easily target the skin, or only slightly impair other organs. It can be an attack on somebody's looks or livelihood. It may just be used to blackmail, injure, make ill or inflict a comatose state, for selfish intentions."

"What about accidental?" Sakura questioned.

"That's easily done. There are many poisonous plants and berries, especially around Konoha. We often get children in the hospital who have eaten things out of curiosity that are dangerous. That brings me on to how a poison enters the body. Any ideas?"

"A poisoned dagger?"

"We'd call that dermal, poison by skin contact. Poisoned weapons are fairly common in ninja battles. One scratch that breaks the skin and a poison gets straight into the bloodstream. One scratch can be fatal."

Shizune wrote '1. Dermal' under the word 'Dosage' and then turned around to look at her. Sakura expected a further explanation or a question, but the older medic only looked at her thoughtfully.

The stretching silence confused her.

"Shizune-san?"

Her teacher gave her a small smile. "I just wondered if you had any thoughts about fighting an enemy who uses poisonous weapons."

"Umm... You should probably try and dodge."

Shizune's smile weakened but she nodded. "Yes, you should. I often use poisonous senbon. They are useful in a variety of situations."

"I'll make sure to stay on your good side then."

The black-haired woman laughed. "I'll show you how to imbue a kunai with poison again at some point too."

_Again_. Sakura swallowed. Was teaching her all of this for a second time a waste of her friend's time? It especially would be if she wasn't going to remember today... All this work everyone was putting into helping her, when the odds were not great, filled her with guilt.

"You've mentioned the second already."

Sakura snapped back to attention. "I have? Oh. Is it through food?"

"That's correct, oral exposure. If you ever don't trust your hosts on a mission, be wary of the food and drink they give you. Watch out for dodgy family feuds. Civilians tend to favour this method and if there are no good doctors about, they blame the death on a heart attack."

Sakura couldn't help thinking that Shizune was talking as if she was expecting her to go on missions in the near future. What missions could she go on with pure knowledge and no skill? No chakra? She technically was a civilian herself. Shizune had written '2. Oral' on the board and moved on to writing out '3. Inhalation'.

"Inhalation is another personal favourite of mine, poison in the air we breathe. Poison mist, toxic gas. It's very obvious, but very deadly. Inhale too much and even an antidote won't do you any good. You can't help someone when they're not breathing. Knowing about this one is more for you."

"What can you do about poisonous mist?" Sakura asked with interest.

"Hold your breath. Close your eyes. If you can, get away from it, where the particles in the air are thinner. It's not often you're given that chance though. If you're stuck in a high concentration of poisonous gas, you don't have much chance. You could try dissipating the gas with an explosive, but that's got its risks also."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. It all sounded too dangerous to her ears.

"I don't think I'd be that reckless. Let's hope I don't have to face a poison like that."

"I know you'd be fine," Shizune said with such confidence that it made Sakura think the medic indeed knew it, and that it wasn't just a strong feeling of faith.

"I will be if you teach me," she answered politely.

"That's my aim, Sakura. So, you've got your source of poison, you know where it's going to target. If you don't know what the poison is, and an injured person comes to you, without chakra all you can do is look for the side-effects. There are obvious ones, such as coughing or a nasty rash, but most often you want to monitor your patient's vital signs. Listen to their lungs and heart, the most dangerous and fast-working poisons attack those two organs."

Sakura hummed in thought. "Can an antidote really save a person if poison is already in the heart or lungs though?"

"Not always," Shizune admitted. "Chakra can help slow a poison, extract a poison, break down a poison...but the antidote is still needed. Chakra helps, but the antidote is the key."

While the rest of the lesson was very interesting, Sakura found it harder to concentrate. All she could think was _even if I was the best at making antidotes, the use of medical chakra could mean the difference between life and death._

* * *

><p>"When you first look at a poison, identify how it was inflicted, the dosage, the target and its danger level," Shizune concluded, putting the chalk down in front of the blackboard before turning around to look at her. "You can get quite far in treating it by just remembering those key points."<p>

The medic was right that there wouldn't be much to write down. Even with only a few words on the board and some arrows, there had been a lot to think about. The topic was slightly paranoia-inducing and by the end of the one-to-one session, Sakura felt uncomfortable. "I'm never going to look at people the same way again. I'm going to suspect everybody who brings me a meal or stands too close behind me."

Shizune laughed. "That's what you said the first time around, but you forget about it, or at least accept that you can't do too much differently in life now anyway. Paranoia will send you mad. Knowledge is enough to help you see the signs of a poison attack."

Sakura looked at the book she had been given. "Thank you, Shizune-san."

"No problem, Sakura. Knowing about toxicology is a great way to get back into lab work."

"I do appreciate all of your help," Sakura said with a genuine smile. "It's very interesting and you succeeded in distracting me from...other things."

"It's always a pleasure," Shizune replied. "You're very helpful to me yourself."

"I'll try to be," Sakura said with determination.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Sakura felt groggy. She remembered the day before at least, but she woke up feeling drained.<p>

She shouldn't have thought so actively about poisons and danger before going to bed. Her dream was full of creepy puppet-like creatures that made her skin crawl to think about even now.

There was an old lady in her dream. Sakura had no idea who she was and for that she was glad, because the dream ended in a funeral. She wasn't able to save her patient no matter how hard she tried.

She briefly pondered whether her dream had any significant meaning behind it, but she didn't want her desperate need for her dreams to mean something to be another disappointment. No matter how real they felt.

The scary dreams she hoped were just dreams, and the good dreams she wanted to be real, and she knew real life didn't work out so nicely. She still knew some of her dreams were real - she couldn't let that crutch go. She needed some support from within her where everything else was failing. If anything, her dream reaffirmed her feelings of frustration over her situation. She wanted to be useful, but only felt like a hindrance. Why couldn't she dream about ramen and marriage? It would be a lot less taxing.

As she rounded the corridor to her test room, she spotted Tsunade heading towards the room also from the opposite direction. Sakura stopped walking when she reached the door and gave her mentor a half-hearted smile.

"What day is it today, Sakura?" the medic asked as she closed the gap between them.

It could have been a normal question, to someone without memory loss, but it wasn't. Even the simplest of things became complicated and it was becoming increasingly obvious to her that her life wasn't that simple to begin with.

Yesterday morning, she was trying to make her life easy.

Yesterday afternoon, she made a promise to herself and to friends that she wouldn't deny the facts.

Today, she wasn't up for that inner-battle.

"Wednesday."

"What did you do yesterday?"

If there were many more questions to this quiz she was going to get annoyed.

"Shizune-san taught me about toxicology," she answered bluntly before catching her disrespectful tone. Her friends were trying to help her. It wasn't fair of her to get grumpy with them. She inhaled through her nose and exhaled out of her mouth to her calm her increasing agitation. "It was really interesting."

Pleased, Tsunade nodded and shifted to face the door. "Then let's get to it."

However, Sakura did have one question she wanted answered - something that had been bugging her.

"Out of interest, shishou, why do you all bother?"

The sannin paused and turned back to look at her. "Bother with what?"

"Teaching me everything for a second time, with the chance I'll forget it again anyway. Why teach me about poisons and missions and fighting?"

"Because of who you are."

Sakura stared at her mentor.

"You are my apprentice. You have influence over some powerful people. Your medical skill and jutsu knowledge was incredibly extensive."

"So I'm a disappointment and a hindrance?"

Tsunade looked at her seriously. "I hope you know, knew, that you have never been a disappointment to me."

If that sentence would have been a comfort to her past self, Sakura couldn't know for sure. Her fears were being confirmed, unintentionally by the Fifth Hokage.

Nervously, she asked, "How much of a danger am I to my friends?"

With a comforting smile, Tsunade placed a hand on her shoulder and encouraged her to enter the room for their new test of the day.

"You were more of a danger to them when you had your strength."

* * *

><p>This day of mind tests turned out to be quite popular with her friends. Sakura looked around the table she was at. 'The Rookie Nine, oh, and Sai' Naruto had called them. Though there were only nine here including Sai. They had all brought along pictures of their time together in the past. The catch was that she had to either be in them, or had to have taken them.<p>

She was not enjoying herself like the rest of the people here. It was all wrong.

What was wrong with all these pictures? It was hard to come to terms with that the answer was _her_. She didn't fit in with these memories, she couldn't even recognise herself. It was as if she was viewing someone else's memories. The memories shown to her through jutsus did feel real, but even then they could be materialised, it was more like watching a film.

Tsunade was right. They may _feel_ right, but she had no way of knowing what was true or not. She knew the dreams were real... She really wanted them to be - needed them to be.

All of the other people, the cute pictures of them made her smile... But she was just an alien and no emotional connection was made when it came to these scenes shown to her. The others would laugh at the memory, but she just wanted to cry. The more the people around the table burst into spontaneous conversations about the memories around them, the harder she found it to keep smile on her face. Her jaw began to ache for holding it in such a fake manner for so long.

The groups' words merged together and she only caught bits of sentences. Their voices echoed around her and their laughter vibrated through her rib cage. She was beginning to get a headache, one that she hadn't felt since the Forest of Death - when everything was just too much. When she desperately wanted to know something, but just wanted the noise and the feelings within her to stop.

_"Hey, Sakura, here we..."_

_"...And you nearly killed Naruto."_

_"...SO funny."_

_"...Could have cried!"_

_"You DID cry."_

_"Did not!"_

_"That's not what I remember, I thought..."_

_"Ha ha ha ha ha."_

_"Sakura?"_

_"Wasn't that funny."_

_"Yes it was. Ow! I mean it will be better next time."_

_"Sakura-chan?"_

Silence.

Everyone was watching her, she could feel it, their expecting eyes as loud as their previous chattering. Her heartbeat was lurching in her chest, in time with her thumping headache. She needed to leave the room. She was suffocating in this circle. She was amongst friends, but felt completely alone.

"No, do go on," she said quietly, barely breaking the hushed silence of the room. "I'm just going to step outside for a moment."

She pushed her chair back and it screeched along the floor. Her legs felt weak and wobbly, but she forced herself to turn and walk towards the door. Ino stood up to follow her but Tsunade opened the door and led her out of the room. Her mentor placed a hand on her shoulder and quietly shut the door behind them. They walked away from the room, until the confused chatter that had begun again faded away.

"Are you OK?"

"I just feel a little dizzy."

"You look it. You're as white as the hospital walls."

Sakura leant against the corridor wall and bent over, trying to ease the sickness and dizziness feeling surrounding her.

Tsunade's hand hovered on her back supportively.

"Just give me a minute or two..."

They stood there in silence for several minutes. As her headache began to numb and fade, her emotion built. Her sadness hurt more than her pounding head.

"I'm sorry, the people didn't need to be there," Tsunade apologised and lowered the hand that had been resting on her back.

"It would have had the same impact."

Sakura didn't want any of her friends feeling bad, especially Tsunade. When she felt like she could stand up straight without the room spinning, she did so, but still leant against the wall behind her.

"I asked them to bring in the pictures. They wanted to stay then."

"I understand."

"Do you?"

"No. I don't understand. I have no emotional attachment to those pictures. I can't explain it." Sakura's arms raised and fell in a frustrated shrug. "I feel like I'm missing a big part of me. I feel lost. It's frightening. Even then, I can't bring myself to miss those memories. How can I? I don't know what I am missing. The timeline of photographs just shows me all I've done. Nobody will even know everything that I have done."

Tsunade watched her in silence, listening attentively.

Sakura placed her head in her hands. "I'm sorry... All this work you've put in..."

"Sakura...I had decided not to show you, yet anyway."

She didn't reply.

"There was no point in rushing you when you were enjoying yourself. I could see how happy you were just being with Naruto."

"But did you see how excited he was yesterday?" Sakura said, her voice barely above a whisper. "He wants to help me to remember so badly. Everybody does."

"It doesn't matter what we think. When it comes to your health, you need to decide what you want."

Sakura sighed in defeat. "I don't know what I want."

Tsunade pushed away from the wall and moved to stand in front of her. She looked down at her and said with certainty, "Then let's give you some more time, Sakura. We will accept whatever choice you make."

It was a logical decision, but it had one major problem. Her time was spent with her friends. These people she loved dearly, but they influenced her every thought.

How could she know what was best for her health if all she could think about was what was best for them? For a certain someone who occupied so much of her thoughts? Made her feel like everything was fine when she knew it wasn't. When it real life she was a danger to him.

Sakura raised her head and looked her mentor in the eyes. "Naruto distracts me."

"That's always been the case."

"My new friends distract me," Sakura continued, swallowing the pain of her dawning realisation. "You're all great, but this isn't what I know."

Sakura had a feeling that the Hokage could read her thoughts. Tsunade didn't take her gaze away from her face.

"I need a break from you all, Naruto especially." She pushed away from the wall completely, her legs a little more stable. She stood up straight, but lowered her head in defeat. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise, Sakura. Would you like me to tell Naruto for you?"

Sakura's head jerked up. "It's going to hurt him, isn't it?"

"He'll try his best to understand."

Like he always did. She was going to hurt him and he was going to try and understand, but he wouldn't really understand her logic. He hadn't left her side wherever possible recently. This break from her friends was going to be strange, but she had to do it.

"Of course... Realistically, he's way too good for me isn't he?"

"No, you would do just as much for him."

"How can I do that now?" She stressed.

She couldn't heal him, she couldn't spar with him, she couldn't share her knowledge, or experience, or memories... What kind of friend could she be if she wasn't whole in herself?

"By taking time out to see what's going to make you happy," she was told simply.

Sakura swallowed down a lump that was forming in her throat. "I'm going to go home now."

Tsunade nodded. "I'll let the others know. We're here if you need us."

"I know you are... Thank you."

* * *

><p><em>This is for the best<em> she told herself when she got outside and directly headed home. She needed to figure out who she was on her own, because she was so confused. She couldn't explain how she felt on the inside. She couldn't place a finger on it, or name the emotion within her - swirling confusion, an indescribable pull in every direction at once. When these new people were with her, her thought pattern changed, what she really wanted was buried deep and replaced with what she wanted for her friends.

Why had her short-term memory started playing up? Why now? It had only made the whole situation more difficult. Knowing that even her new experiences weren't safe, that everything could still get worse, made the pain within her double. Despite her deep thought, she power walked down the street with her head downcast in the hopes she didn't bump into anybody she knew.

"Sakura-chan!"

She stopped dead in her tracks.

Naruto.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, wait up!" he called after her.

She heard his footsteps getting closer. When he reached her, he skidded to a halt just in front of her. He turned, a little breathless, he repeated, "Hey."

"Naruto...what did Tsunade tell you all?"

"To leave you alone for a while," Naruto answered.

She stared at him blankly.

Naruto looked at her for a moment before his expression transformed into realisation, when it dawned on him that the order to leave her alone concerned him also. He wasn't an exception.

In this case, he was the main focus of the order. He wouldn't know that. He wouldn't understand it. She could already tell this conversation was going to be tough for both of them.

"Just for a while, until I say so," she told him softly before sighing. "Why does this feel like some kind of breakup?"

"I didn't mean for ramen tonight to be a date," he told her rapidly, as if it would change things. "It's not like we were dating... We can still be friends right? I can come and talk to you?"

"Boyfriend, best friend, teammate, tour guide, whatever we are, this relationship needs to end," her tone edged on desperate before she tried to argue her decision more logically. "Now that I know my way around Konoha and I don't feel so lost in my own home, I need a little time and space to figure things out. Be alone for a while, take a step back and evaluate my situation."

If he took that as she had just been using him, he didn't say so out loud.

Sakura shook her head. "I need to know what it feels like without you... Does that make sense?"

"I never want to know what it feels like without you," he told her sadly.

She couldn't really believe that he was dependent on her in any way, not like she was him. He was so strong, physically, mentally, emotionally. He would be absolutely fine away from her, if not better off. He could train and spend time with all his other friends. She wouldn't be endangering him and mostly...she couldn't disappoint him as much. She wasn't prepared to hurt him. Even with these feelings at heart, she was about to hurt him nonetheless.

"I need to come to terms," she told him clearly and stood up straighter, trying to give the impression of certainty about her plan. "With what it will be like if I never get my memory back."

Naruto winced and her resolve inwardly weakened.

"What we have now is good though right?" he challenged.

Excluding everything to do with her amnesia, their relationship was brilliant. The problem was she didn't know what their previous relationship was like and she feared her past self's behaviour towards him. He was too good for her, even now.

"I've spent a lot more time with you recently than I would normally?" she questioned.

He didn't answer her, but the pain in his eyes deepened. His silence told her that it was true. He lowered his head to look at the floor, sparing her from looking at his dismal expression.

"I need to take a break from this, whatever _this_ is."

"Have I done something wrong?"

If the situation wasn't so dire, she would have laughed at his silly question. She strongly believed he couldn't do anything wrong even if he tried.

"No... You did everything right, you're a perfect guy. I'm so, so lucky to have you."

He blinked up at her, looking as confused as she felt on the inside.

"I know who you are... But I don't know who I am. I can't figure that out right now, when you're here. You're terribly biased and make me want to believe I'm the most important person in the world."

Naruto went to open his mouth but she brought a finger to her lips, signalling for him to let her finish. She knew what he was going to say...something as beautifully cheesy as _you are to me_.

She didn't want to be reeled back in by his loving smile or his cute words. She needed to get away until her heart stopped beating so loudly that she stopped hearing her head. The broken part of her wasn't even getting a chance to be a problem. Problems didn't exist when she was with Naruto, he wouldn't let her fret.

All she knew was him, and while that was a wonderful experience, she needed to learn what she wished she didn't, to make being with him all the more special. She didn't think she could ever tell him though, she couldn't put into words _why_ she needed to do this. She just hoped for once he'd let her fall, let her make the mistakes that enabled her to grow as a person.

If she didn't remember her mistakes and learn from them, she'd never get the chance be proud that she didn't make them the next time around.

She lowered her finger from her lips again and she tried to voice her thoughts.

"Honestly, I woke up in that hospital room clueless. I trusted you, the medics. At first I thought you were a medic too, and then I questioned your attire. What medical professional wears the colour orange?" She smiled to herself at the memory. "I liked you, almost straight away. Your personality was infectious, positive... My tangible memories were dreary, my opinion of myself low. You made me believe I was so much more. I sit and wonder now whether that was you, or if someone else could have done it. I could have woken up and believed whatever someone fed to me, truth or lie, good or evil. Without a doubt, you're an amazing person. I don't need half a personality to see that. But I want to make sure I know who I am and I need to find that out for myself."

Naruto continued to look at her, a somber expression across his face, but he didn't try and argue.

"I'm not saying it will be forever," Sakura continued. "You're my new familiarity. I need to step out of that comfort zone to feel how much I'm really missing out on."

Unable to say goodbye, she turned around and began to walk away from him.

Her feet felt heavy, but not as heavy as her heart. She was already beginning to feel doubt.

Before she walked out of the picture altogether, she turned around and tried her best to ignore the hope in his eyes at her action. "You have other friends, right?"

"Uhh, yeah."

That was enough to bring a small, but natural smile back to her face. "You should hang out with them, make them as happy and free as you do for me."

"I'll try."

"Thank you."

He didn't know what to say, that was obvious. He seemed glued to the spot, stunned into silence. It wasn't what they originally pictured their day, or week, to be like.

She knew she had hurt him and that made her sad, but she needed to do this. She hoped that by the end of it, she could go back to him feeling unmoveable in her decision, and with all her will try and earn his forgiveness. She watched him for several more seconds, half worried that he wouldn't get home if she left him standing there now.

"Let me find myself, and then I'll find you again."

At her words, he stood up taller. "I'll always be here, Sakura-chan."

"Likewise... If you do need me, just break my philosophical phase and I'll be willing to help."

He smile and she smiled too.

Then she turned around and walked away because she knew if she stood there looking at him for much longer, she would find it even more impossible to drag herself in the other direction.

Naruto wouldn't be alone; someone like him would never be alone. He himself admitted that he had friends, he had teammates. If anything, she had been depriving him from being social with more people.

That's what she repeated to herself as she walked away.

* * *

><p>Sakura nervously walked up to the house that was so familiar to her, but that she hadn't seen in so long. With a shaking hand, she reached up and knocked the door three times and stepped back to wait for an answer.<p>

Half a minute later, the door opened. Mebuki Haruno stood there for a moment. She opened the door wider when she realised who it was.

"Sakura." Her mother greeted her, her tone full of surprise. "Is something wrong?"

"I was just wondering if...I could stay here for a little while?"

Her mother watched her for a moment and Sakura inwardly prayed she wouldn't start asking her lots of questions. Sakura would not be able to handle a serious conversation. In time, she'd probably open up to her parents, but right now, she just needed that undeniable, silent, family love.

No questions asked, Mebuki smiled at her and stepped back, openly inviting her back into her old home. The home she actually remembered.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

It's been a long time. Way too long. I can only apologise. In fact, the only terribly bad excuse that would fit this situation would be something very Kakashi-ish.

_Sorry I'm late, I'm afraid I got lost on the path of life._

It's been a busy and tough year for me. Amnesia has never been far from my thoughts (oh, the guilt). I've re-read it a few times and added some details to past chapters where I felt it was lacking. I'm always writing down any ideas that hit me. I had over 10k words in random notes. I wanted to write this when I actually had the mindset and time to write. However, months of fleeting ideas do not logically fit together. As I write, I'm deciding what can stay and what has to go. That kind of editing is a new experience.

Months ago, I even made Amnesia a new story cover, because the last one was just terrible. This one attempts to show that when Sakura first looks at Naruto after waking, she doesn't see him, all she can do is connect his image to one of her earliest memories of seeing him as a child. The quote "she doesn't know who you are" will not be recognised by the readers who have been with me since the start. That line was added on a quick detail-adding run through of the story. Don't worry. Any changes I have made have not altered the plot in any way. Hopefully it just added clarity in areas where it was needed most.

I re-read your reviews too. Your expectations, hopes and predictions influence moments in my chapters. To the person who wanted to see more on poisons, I just gave you something more real – but you'll have to wait and see what I do with the idea next.

I also seriously researched amnesia and it became very apparent to me that my plot was scientific. It was inspired by science in the first place, but it's made it lacking in the emotional impact department which is what you see here. I'm glad I left the story on a high, but now we we'll start another dip. When we reach the reason why I looked into amnesia on a more personal level, I'll let you know exactly why in the author notes. No spoilers.

I do still work full time (I've only uploaded one Amnesia chapter since I started working – terrible), but the next chapter will be out ASAP. However long it takes me, and I do plan to never let it get this long between updates again, I don't have the heart to abandon a partly-uploaded story. I was not going to let the update wait be over a year (she says, like 11 months was that much different). I'm back, along with my overly-long author notes – which are always a shortened version too.

Thank you once again, to new and old readers, for being patient and for reading.


	18. Entering a Period of Uncertainty

**Amnesia**

Chapter 18: Entering a Period of Uncertainty

* * *

><p>Sakura walked into her old home. As she followed her mother through the hallway she noticed a picture hanging on the wall. The wooden photo frame held an image of her and her parents. She was in the middle and her mum and dad stood either side of her. They looked happy, her parents proud. She would guess that it was taken only a couple of years ago, but she didn't know for sure.<p>

Unwanted tears began to fill her eyes. Not recognising memories with teenage friends was one thing, but your own parents. She came home for familiarity and was immediately greeted with alienism. Her mother was surprised to see her. There was an unfamiliar picture hanging on the wall directly through the doorway. Next she would find out that her room had completely changed, or that something else she had wanted to cling onto was no longer there.

Her mother stood patiently behind her, observing her in curious silence.

"I just needed to come home," Sakura told her quietly.

"Don't worry about that picture," Mebuki answered just as softly. "We only put it there to hide a hole in the wall that your father made."

Sakura nodded, but kept her head bowed, the tears still threatening to fall. It had been a long and tough day. She was shaken from this morning's science experiment and even more so from her decision to distance herself from her intrusive yet loving friends. She was already drowning in guilt from her conversation with Naruto. His pained expression was burnt into her mind. Even if this was for the best, for both of them, she didn't think she could ever forgive herself for putting him through it. He was as good as gold to her and deserved so much more.

"Now come on, no tears at the table," Mebuki told her more firmly before heading down the corridor. "Dinner is at six, as always."

Sakura sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

This is why she came home. A schedule that was so innately routine that she could have the time to think. She wanted to understand herself and her situation. If she was no longer with the people who showed her where everything was and told her everything she could do, she would figure something out for herself. There was no doubt in her mind that she would miss her friends dearly, but she would let that be her motivation.

Pulling herself together, she stood up straighter and continued the walk down the corridor into the lounging area. The first thing she noticed was that there were strange gaps between pictures on flat surfaces like their mantelpiece, and Sakura wondered if her mother had quickly grabbed older images of her and removed them so she wasn't faced with more pain.

However, she did not feel any pain as she spotted a spike of dull pink hair peaking up from the sofa and her face lit up when she saw her dad. His head perked up and he saw her standing in the doorway. Although her father also looked surprised when she walked in, he had his feet up on the sofa and had his hands behind his head in a very relaxed manner. His wife walked past him and nudged his feet back to the floor.

"Your daughter is staying here, so entertain her until dinner," she ordered before heading into the kitchen.

Kizashi sat up straighter at his wife's words, still obviously confused but willing to go with it.

Sakura smiled at her parents' interaction and rounded the sofa to sit down next to her dad. Making herself comfortable on the familiar sofa, she waited for her father to 'entertain her'.

"So," he began awkwardly, "what have you been doing recently?"

She giggled. She had not seen him in months and he couldn't even think up a decent conversation. "Not much, dad. What about you?"

"Ah, you know, this and that."

She looked at him, biting her lip, with a still amused smile on her face. "This and that?"

"Yes, relaxing, a bit of gardening, shopping with your mother."

Her smile widened. He hadn't changed a bit. He had aged well, the same demeanour all about him. He still did the same activities. That was comforting. She could slip in with this lifestyle effortlessly as she knew it well. All she needed to do was say something to get the man going and their conversation could last all the way up until it was time to eat.

"Do you have any stories from your recent shopping escapades?"

Kizashi turned to her, filled with sudden enthusiasm as a story idea popped into his head. "You bet. There's something about this family, we always attract strange people-"

"They probably say the same about us."

As her father burst into her laughter, she grinned up at him.

"Well we were very normal compared to this man that I met yesterday. I was waiting outside a shop for your mother..."

Sakura drifted off into a comforted lull as she listened to her father's words. As she allowed his presence and over-the-top body language to wash over her, she found herself feeling completely at home. She felt more normal than she had in a long time. She couldn't make this situation worse by not knowing who was being talked about, or not remembering a place or time. She existed with an outside-looking-in perspective and had no control over the story's direction. She was the daughter of the man who always got into weird and wonderful situations, and no matter what, always had a smile on his face and a joke up his sleeve. She basked in the identity and the knowledge that nothing about this man could surprise her.

On the other hand, her mother could surprise her, but that in itself wasn't surprising. The woman was protective of her and showed it in a much more serious light compared to her dad. She was kind, but could frighten both her daughter and her husband with little-to-no effort. You didn't want to get on the wrong side of Mebuki Haruno. And if you were on the right side of Kizashi Haruno, it was likely you were going to have a fun time.

Sakura observed her mother walk out of the kitchen and head towards the door behind them, back into the corridor where the stairs were located. Mebuki didn't say anything, and simply rolled her eyes when she caught ear of what story her husband was sharing. Sakura was almost tempted to follow her mum, but thought twice about it when the blonde closed the door fully behind her.

Not long after, Sakura heard the sounds of creaky floorboards meaning her mother had gone upstairs. She was more of a mystery and Sakura knew Mebuki hid things from her in an attempt to make things easier at every opportunity – or at least she used to when she was younger. For today, that was OK. She had questions, but right now she wanted to be with her parents in a care-free environment.

* * *

><p>The meal they shared was obviously for two people, it would have been too late for her mother to throw in something extra, but neither parent seemed to mind a little less on their plates. Sakura would admit that she wasn't overjoyed with the choice of meal, but it wasn't like she was there before it was cooking and had a say in the matter. This dish was particularly bitter. It wasn't that bad, but she found herself wishing it was something else – like ramen.<p>

She shook her head in an attempt to immediately stop that train of thought and asked, "So do you eat healthier now that I moved out? Has anything else changed?"

"Life is a lot more boring," Kizashi said before noting the annoyed look his wife gave him. He quickly added to Mebuki, "Not to say that you are boring, dear, it's just that Sakura brings a refreshing presence to the table."

"And better meal choices?" Sakura said with a smile.

Kizashi looked between the girls.

"Still not a fan of my fried bitter gourd?" Mebuki asked her daughter.

After trying and failing to cook for herself, Sakura was not about to criticise her mother's cooking. Fried bitter gourd wasn't that bad. While she would certainly prefer something else to eat (she found she loved sweet foods), she knew that at least she would be eating well while she was living under this roof, taste aside. Apart from a more strict time schedule, her eating habits would not change too much. She had been eating out a lot recently... with a certain male she was trying to push to the back of her mind.

"I think it's _gourd_geous," Kizashi joked.

At the terrible pun, Sakura's falling mood lifted and she was brought back into the moment as her mother covered her eyes and shook her head in embarrassment.

Sakura watched her parents fondly. "You've not changed at all."

"Your father's got worse," Mebuki grumbled.

"Is that possible?" Sakura asked her mother.

While she loved her dad, she had many memories of him being incredibly embarrassing. The same went for her mother. Together, they were brilliant at putting her in awkward situations - and that was saying a lot considering her memories with her family were so old, but she was easily embarrassed as a child. She didn't think she had changed in that respect. She didn't know how to handle embarrassment. She wasn't brilliant with emotions in general. If she was better at understanding herself, she wouldn't be back at home.

"I didn't think it was, Sakura, but he manages to top himself most weeks."

"I'm getting wittier with age," Kizashi agreed.

"Cheesier," Mebuki corrected.

Naruto had some cheesy one-liners.

She exhaled audibly when her brain made that connection. She had obviously spent too long with the boy. They ate together all the time.

Her dad noted her sigh. "I know, Sakura, it would have been a better comment if we were eating cheese."

She smiled at him. It was probably a good thing that her parents were going to interpret her actions and respond accordingly instead of asking her what was wrong – or at least that was the case with her dad. She didn't think she could explain how she felt. She didn't want those who cared about her to know how she felt. She wondered if they understood her as well as they did when she was a child.

"Don't get _bitter_ over it, dad, we will leave the puns to you."

Her dad burst out laughing again.

Sakura looked at her mother, who shook her head but smiled at her with a comforting fondness.

Family meals around the table could often be intense, but she had many happy memories with her parents sat right here. She knew that she could always come home and they wouldn't be any different to ten years ago, that whilst she had obviously grown up and changed, they looked the same, spoke the same way and treated her like they always had.

They would never change. That fact allowed her to sleep well when she went to sleep in her old bed.

* * *

><p>The dreams that surrounded her that night were odd, but entertaining. Her brain conjured up a film reel of picture perfect moments of family photographs. She was lost in a world of a photographer taking pictures of her and her parents. They needed a picture for their mantelpiece apparently. Her mother insisted on this and it had to be a good one. Sakura didn't think having family photographs being taken would be an enjoyable experience, but her parents made it so. They were entertaining, if not completely mortifying. Hilarity constantly ensued.<p>

Her dad would attempt to make them laugh by making terrible jokes. Her mother would make threats through gritted, smiling teeth. This resulted in her dad looking awkward and her mum looking annoyed, and she just looked incredibly embarrassed. They had to take several photos, with comments in between from all three of them (either making them pull unflattering faces or not appreciating how they looked in the resulting photo), making each one a no-go. Eventually, they managed one perfect photo. They may have all been laughing rather than smiling but just dreaming and hearing that laughter was uplifting. She was older in this dream, but she knew her identity. Sakura Haruno, daughter of Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno – officially the most embarrassing parents in the whole of Konoha.

She woke up with a smile on her face, to a room that had not changed since her childhood. Her bed, dressing table, chair and mirror were all in the exact same place. It felt like she had come home to her parents' house, to a place where she used to live. It was strange to feel like that. She thought she would feel most at home in this bedroom - in this bed. It was comforting, but she couldn't see herself here forever.

Her family... She loved them but they were not perfect. When you're young, you don't spot any errors in your parents – they simply can't make mistakes. However, her father could be rather dense on occasion and these moments made her laugh. Her mother's temper could easily get the better of her and these moments also made her laugh (which she would have to stifle and pretend like it wasn't an amusing situation).

This only applied to private moments between the three of them. As soon they were out in public, their interaction was uncomfortable and inconvenient for her social life. Young memories she looked back on made her wonder why she wasn't exasperated at her parents' interactions more. Sakura was certain she must have forgotten plenty of embarrassing moments. She could only imagine their potential to embarrass her in public these days. Her mother had stated her dad was getting worse.

Did the fact that she could spot errors mean she had grown up? The possibility left her wondering. She identified past events with embarrassment, but some humour, and she thought of her parents much differently than she did as a child. Had she grown up recently for a second time, or was she already grown up mentally when she awoke in the hospital?

Sakura didn't know the answer to that question and she didn't want to think about it any further currently. She was going to relax and recuperate. There would be no amnesia troubling thoughts and no back and forth emotions. For a few days, she would live like she used to. It would only be for a little while, because she had a strong feeling that after too long she would miss her independence – as much independence as an amnesiac could have.

In a positive frame of mind, she pulled back her covers and hopped out of bed. She walked across her wooden floor up to the full-length mirror besides her dressing table and looked at her reflection. As a child, she used to be dwarfed by the image staring back at her. The room used to be the majority of what she saw as she glanced upwards. Now she filled the frame as she stood up straight.

She felt old. She felt tall. She didn't feel as ugly as all the kids used to call her. Granted, she still had the big forehead, which was something she desperately wished she would grow out of when she was young. It was something that had the potential to still bother her, but as she had been surrounded by caring people with positive attitudes about herself and her lifestyle, looks were not important to her.

Were physical appearances meaningful to her before she hit her head? How long did it take her to drop that down so far on her priority list, if she did at all? For how many years did Ino need to protect her until she managed to find her own confidence? Her childhood memories with Ino were few, but she had become best friends with the girl so quickly and her short known relationship with Ino was important to her.

Older Ino had tarnished some of her childhood awe and respect, but she grew to like her best friend in a very different way. Their new friendship consisted of teasing and embarrassing, yet still humorous, back and forth banter. They cared for each other – they just hid it well. When she thought about it more, their friendship had been completely overhauled. She hadn't shied behind the blonde for anything, although Ino did still try and influence her fashion style and her social choices.

Remembering something in particular, she sat down on her dresser's chair and pulled open the draw. Her hand ghosted into its empty space. She used to keep the ribbon that Ino gave her in here. She hadn't found it at her house and it wasn't here either. Granted, it wouldn't suit her now. But it had begun to be a part of her emerging personality. That small ribbon gave her the confidence to stand up a little taller and stop hiding behind ugly bangs.

She wondered how long it took her to stand on her own. Did she then start to put others down? In a way, she did not want to know the answer to that question. Ino's descriptions of her infatuation with Sasuke, and spitefulness towards Naruto, made her question herself big time. Firstly, she obviously couldn't judge character at some point in her life.

Perhaps she was never truly inwardly confident or secure if she had to put Naruto down to pick herself up, because she remembered seeing Naruto around as a child. He was similar to her, always on his own. If she had been more self-assured she would have approached him, but she didn't see him very often and she was pulled away when he was near.

She wanted to ask her mum _why, why be so cruel to a rejected child?_ Then she realised she had done the exact same thing just yesterday. She hoped her mother had as good intentions as she did and deep down knew that would be the case. Her parents were protective of her - too protective. She was not as fragile as they likely thought, even if she turned up upset on their doorstep. She hoped she was not treated like a damaged patient. Her friends certainly had not done so. They tested her, they trained her, and they took advantage of her condition which made her feel like one of them.

She did not want to go without that forever. She missed them already, enough to make her feel lonely – although that is what she wanted. She wanted to remember because they wanted her to remember. She couldn't afford to be complacent with what she had, even if her friends were comforting enough to make her happy in her situation. If she was truly happy, she could not put everything she had into remembering and training for fear of everything spiralling downwards in failure and disappointment.

She was not truly happy. When moments were depressing, or frightening, or even confusing, she began to question herself feverishly. She wanted to live to the best of her ability. She wanted to be the best person she could possibly be. Therefore, she needed to be strong enough to push through the darkness and the loneliness of feeling like ten years of her life was empty, leaving her with only the potential to hurt her friends.

It would be much easier to stay in this room. She could stay with her parents forever and not hurt anyone, not be a burden through a lack of ability or knowledge. She looked upwards and stared at the plain ceiling in deep thought. This might be better for everyone. Her parents got to spend time with her. She was not endangering her friends by putting herself in a position to be kidnapped or make crazy decisions. She was not wasting their time by getting them to try and teach her things over and over again.

She sighed. Perhaps she was not ready to go back to them. If absence makes the heart grow fonder, she would isolate herself until she wanted nothing more than to go back to Naruto, to Ino, to Tsunade and everyone who was willing to help her. There was no doubt they were good for her, but she wanted to feel like she could give back just as much.

Looking back at the room around her, she noticed how clean her dressing table was. It was likely that her mother gave it a quick tidy up yesterday while their dinner was cooking, but this area was particularly clean. It was plain and empty. She would have thought there would be old knickknacks, or photographs or clothes about, but it was bare.

She made a mental note to ask about it later, as well as to get her head in the moment and stop inwardly debating the same thing over and over. She came home for a break from it all, to be transported back into as much as her old life as possible, to calm down, as well as compare her new and old life. She was prepared to get lost in a routine and learn who she was.

* * *

><p>Her parents were waiting for her at the kitchen table. They greeted her cheerfully and Mebuki placed her breakfast in her place. Anyone could get used to being waited on each day. She imagined the days merging together and before she knew it, years would pass by. She feared her memory slipping, resulting in her losing more time without even noticing.<p>

"Steamed rice and miso soup," she said to herself as she sat down and pulled in her chair, "and last night we had fried bitter gourd."

When she raised her head, she noticed her mother looking at her oddly.

She swallowed. She hadn't forgotten a whole day again had she? If she was not being monitored closely by her friends, could further problems develop and go unreported? Tsunade had originally argued that she was to have a friend, preferably a medic, at her side at all times. However, she wouldn't put it passed the Hokage to have someone secretly watching her, despite the intrusion of her privacy and the waste of manpower.

"Yes, Sakura, that's right," Mebuki said slowly.

She exhaled in relief.

"Why?"

Sakura momentarily considered lying. She did not want to worry her parents any more than she had done with the whole amnesia deal. Then she realised that wasn't fair. It could cause additional problems. Her parents might need a list of signs to watch out for in case her condition worsened. As much as it felt like a failure, she needed to tell the truth. If she was truthful, her parents might grant her the same respect. She certainly didn't want a repeat of her relationship with Tsunade whereby the woman kept secrets from her to protect her. She wondered if the Hokage still did so. She was back with her own mother, she didn't need a second.

"A few days ago... I forgot a whole day."

"Anterograde amnesia?" her mother said, sounding surprised.

Sakura was taken aback by the display of knowledge. "You know about amnesia?"

Her dad nudged her and smiled. "Your mother has read every textbook on amnesia since you woke up in the hospital. She probably knows more than you, and that's saying something because you have a brilliant little medical mind."

Mebuki shrugged. "I wanted to know everything I could about your condition, so I could be there for you. I've had a few discussions with the Hokage too."

Sakura's eyes widened further. "I didn't think you were on friendly terms."

At the time, she hadn't known what to do about the two squabbling women. Their ferocity had frightened her. To learn that they had been collaborating so soon after butting heads didn't seem realistic. They had both wanted to be her main point of contact and their thoughts on what should happen regarding her amnesia were sharply contradictory.

"We share a common interest that is important to the both of us... you."

"But you were fighting, aggressively," she insisted.

"It was hard for me to listen to her speak. Before I talked to you she described the situation. It's not your fault, but I wanted to blame myself, or the next best thing, Tsunade. The greatest medic Konoha has ever seen, but she didn't know how to help you. She sent you on that mission. She tried to send me away from your bedside."

Sakura lowered her head. She hated that everyone was blaming themselves for her problem, her mistake. She saw it in her friends' eyes. Naruto did everything he could for her, but his eyes always expressed disappointment when he could not help her further. Everyone did so much and she let them down by making no progress – by getting worse.

"I felt useless. I could do nothing to help my daughter... but I realised Tsunade felt the same way. When I left, I knew you were in good hands with your friends and so I gave you time and space."

She mustered a smile, but her eyes began to tear up. She didn't need to be told how brilliant everybody else was. She couldn't express her appreciation to any of them. All these people were putting in work without her knowledge. Who knew how many textbooks her mother had trawled through, and probably frightened herself at the possible, but unlikely problems, that could develop. She had scared herself doing research early on also. The medical world was fascinating, but a very scary place.

"Thank you," she breathed, unable to voice more without breaking into tears.

"We visited you when you were in a coma," Kizashi added. "There was always someone sat at your bedside."

Sniffing, she tilted her head in agreement. "I'm very lucky."

They smiled at her comfortingly.

Mebuki added genuinely, "And so are we. We are proud of you, Sakura, no matter what happens."

Unable to stop the waterworks, Sakura stood up and leant across the table to pull her parents into a tight hug, crying tears of sadness, but also happy appreciation. If she did not have the support of her parents and friends, she would have fallen apart. Not only was she not alone in her battle, but she had options opened up to her and opportunities that not many would have. She may have brain damage, but she would never be more grateful for the ring of supportive people surrounding her.

If she was a bad person before she hit her head, when she remembered, her eyes would open up to an invaluable love that could change even the most bitter of hearts.

* * *

><p>The rest of breakfast was eaten in a comfortable silence. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts and when the time came to clear up, everyone stayed sat in their places.<p>

"You know..." Mebuki broke the silence. "When I was sat in that hospital room, it was easy for me to point the blame at your friends. I'm sorry for my behaviour. I didn't know how to handle it."

Sakura hoped her mother didn't feel guilt over the squabble with Tsunade. She had only brought that day up in an attempt to rectify her confusion over the current relationship of the two women. Perhaps Mebuki did feel slightly guilty over her actions that day, but Sakura wanted her to know that she wasn't angry or even confused anymore. It was understandable. They were stressed, unable to solve the problem and butted heads over the best course of action.

"It's okay."

"It's just hard to realise that you've become redundant in your child's life, when they need someone the most."

After all the gratitude Sakura felt towards her mum only minutes ago, she could not begin to fathom why Mebuki would feel like that. She came home - surely that was enough to clear up how much she still needed her parents. They created a safe, loving environment with no judgement or regret. They raised her and some of the strongest memories she could recall were with the two people sat around this table. Those memories were so care-free.

"You're never redundant, mum, I came home because I had to - nobody else can do a mother's job - I just needed that sense of security."

Her father stood up and headed towards the door in the kitchen that led to their back garden. He flicked the lock, ensuring the door could only be open from the inside. He then grinned at her. "Safe and secure, honey."

Sakura smiled at him. The man would always try and make light of a situation. He never wanted his family to be upset, nor did he allow them to linger on the negatives. She definitely didn't get her worrying personality from his side of the family. It was tough to bring him down.

He walked back over to the table and collected their dishes before piling them up and placing them in the washing up bowl. He turned on the hot water.

"Shall I help you wash up?" she offered.

Her parents seemed taken aback as they both looked at her with surprised expressions.

"You want to wash up?" Mebuki repeated.

"Of course. I always used to help out."

"You grew out of that one quickly," her mother answered with dry amusement. "Chores became unimportant to you. Your room often got messy."

That was tough to imagine. When she was little, she was always helping with work around the house. Helping in the kitchen, attempting to help move furniture... Painting with her dad had been one of her favourite activities when the opportunity arose. She must have forgotten her whole 'rebel, teenager' faze and she could not envision that she ever went through it.

"You should see my house... it's spotless. Granted, I got a dishwasher, but my books are alphabetised and at least I dust enough."

"You and your books." Her dad laughed.

"I love reading, and learning."

Mebuki smiled at her. "You've not lost your personality."

That was something she questioned all the time – how different she was now compared to before she had amnesia. How much can your personality change with a small bump to the head? "You really think so?"

"Of course, Sakura, you're still a grown up young lady. When you really mean something, you're very self-contained."

When she was younger, self-contained was something she would have loved to be. She always wanted the confidence to chase what she believed in. She had wanted to be as strong and cool as Ino was, but she had always stuttered over her words and hidden in her thoughts.

"And when I'm nervous it's plain obvious?" She wondered how much she had grown out of her negative traits, because she certainly didn't feel sure of herself and her decisions most of the time.

"Yes, but I don't know if you'll ever completely grow out of that habit. Tsunade must have really worked on your confidence."

"She's good at encouraging me... in a really bizarre way," Sakura admitted, recalling the many times just being in the presence of the Sannin had made her fear for her life and sanity.

"I never did thank her for all she did for you. I was too busy cursing her for taking you away from me."

Sakura frowned when the conversation headed back in that direction. At least she wasn't being treated like a child. Her mother was telling her the truth on serious topics and sharing her own fears and worries. Sakura wondered when her relationship changed and how close they had become as she grew up. It sounded like she had been a pretty vacant daughter recently. She made a mental note to remember to drop by every now and again when she moved on.

"I think she understands that. I'm lucky to have you both in my life."

"And me!" her dad called out, glancing over his shoulder at them still sat down at the table.

"Yes, dad, you too."

Mebuki studied her closely. "Then why did you come home?"

It was asked out of curiosity and kindness, and while Sakura would rather not divulge what had been upsetting her recently, she owed her parents an explanation. The sooner she got it off her chest, the sooner she could forget about it and her parents would not be additionally worried about her mental state. They were being honest with her and she would be honest with them in return, even if the truth was ugly.

Sakura recalled the events of the previous morning, where her friends had all brought in pictures of their past memories in an attempt to spark something in her, only to shake her badly. She omitted the part about telling Tsunade that she didn't want any further interaction with her friends, and the talk she had with Naruto. That wound was still fresh and she poked at it enough herself without openly discussing it. She was not ready to talk about her emotions revolving around that boy yet. "In that moment I was so lost, I had to come home."

"The picture on the wall in the hallway..." Mebuki trailed off, realising why she had acted so strangely when she had seen the photograph hanging on the wall.

"Was tough for me to look at."

Her father, who had finished washing up whilst Sakura explained her situation, was now stood leaning against the counter so he could face both of them. "Hold on a moment," he said before heading out of the kitchen into their living room.

Mother and daughter watched him leave and shared a curious look before he returned not long after. He had a photo album in his hand and was flicking through it as he re-entered the kitchen. When Mebuki saw this, she pulled her chair around to the corner of the table so she could sit right next to her daughter and get a better look at what Kizashi was going to show them.

Sakura was instantly nervous. She came home to avoid these sorts of situations, not increase them. She did not want to see any more photographs of her past life that she could not remember or feel attachment to. It was tough to see the connection in the peoples' eyes around her when she felt nothing.

However, her dad seemed to think it was a good idea as he began speaking. "People forget things all the time. Just because you can't remember these moments, it doesn't make you any less of the girl in each picture." He turned over the page and placed the photo album on the table in front of her. "For example, I don't remember this day."

Sakura looked at the image closely. She was with her dad, a party hat on her head, stood over a cake. They both grinned up at the camera with childish glee. "That looks like my birthday."

Her dad looked closer. "Ah. So it is."

"You don't remember my birthday?"

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "You've had eighteen of them, and I'm getting old, you know."

She pouted. She hoped he was only teasing. He should remember his daughter's birthday more than most things. They all knew she couldn't recall it.

"I, for one, remember all of your birthdays," her mother interrupted, shooting a look at her husband.

Kizashi straightened. "And of course I do too! This was your tenth birthday."

Sakura studied his face and frowned. "Did you just count the candles on the cake?"

He smiled back at her. "I remember it."

"I don't."

Her mother skipped over a couple of pages of photographs to find another. "Do you remember this?"

She was younger here and she was not sure what age she was in the picture. She still had no recollection of the event.

"No."

"You were six years old. That exceeds your amnesia range."

Her dad nodded. "You can't get upset when you see pictures of things you don't remember. We all forget so much anyway. Time will always escape us and memories will eventually too. See, I don't remember this either."

Sakura looked closer at the new photo her dad was pointing at. "That looks like mum's birthday."

She looked back up to see her dad awkwardly smiling and her mother glaring at him.

Mebuki grumbled, "You would think memory loss runs in the family."

"I live in the moment," Kizashi defended himself. "Even if I can't recall these images, it doesn't mean they didn't happen, they cannot bring me down."

It was tough to live in the moment when you were unsure of your past and worried about the future, but her dad was right. She couldn't go forever avoiding seeing images from years before. She didn't want to bring those around her down by getting worked up each time she struggled to recollect something. Instead, she needed to try and let the images spur her on to try and remember them.

She allowed her parents to show her the rest of the photo album and the more they shared their memories and laughed with each other, little by little her smile grew more natural as she listened to the stories. She didn't immediately rack her brains for the memory or over think each picture. She listened. She could picture what they were saying and it didn't really matter if she was anywhere near close in her imagination. The pair often disagreed about how an event happened and in their minds they viewed the memory completely differently. It was all about personal perspective.

* * *

><p>For the next few days, Sakura lived like she was on holiday. She tried not to worry herself and allowed her parents to spend quality time with her. They shopped, they ate out and they visited sites around Konoha as a family.<p>

After she showed signs of comfortableness, her parents (her mum mainly) discussed sparsely about her amnesia and all she had done and learnt after she woke up in the hospital. She left out the darkest of matters for now, such as Sasuke and events like her escapade into the Forest of Death (she knew she would be scolded for that, or worse - set her mother on Tsunade again for the dangerous experiments), and focused on describing her experiences in a positive light.

It was easy to explain things in a positive manner when Naruto was involved, but she quickly got off the topic every time he was mentioned. She had subconsciously been looking out for him as she walked around the town. At one point she had spotted a spike of blond hair and her heart had skipped a beat. She wanted to see him, but she wasn't admitting it out loud or putting _too_ much effort into finding him.

Mebuki also admitted to quickly taking down all the pictures in their lounge when she had arrived at the house. Every day, her mother placed one old item back in its place. Sakura had been counting them each time, making sure a number wasn't missed which would have meant she had forgotten the day before.

None of the appearing photographs meant anything to her personally, but she did not allow that to upset her. Small things reappeared in her room as well – an old ninja headband, old clothes, and even a copy of her Team 7 photograph (which after seeing it enough in her own house did not upset her anymore, although admittedly caused some deep feelings of confusion).

There was still no sign of her ribbon from Ino which felt like the only item that was truly missing. That would have meant something to her, unlike all the other magically appearing objects. That was until her mother commented on there being one more photograph to put back in its place - the centre mantelpiece decoration.

Sakura watched from the sofa, as Mebuki walked up to their mantelpiece in front her and placed a large framed photograph in the empty space in the middle. Sakura's eyes settled on the final picture and she was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of familiarity. She had seen this photograph before. It was the one she saw so clearly in her sleep. They were all laughing. There was not a hair out of place from her dream. All she could do was stare at the image in shocked realisation.

"Oh boy," her mother began, stepping backwards to check it was evenly placed on the shelf, "I remember this day."

"The photographer was a great guy," her dad commented from the sofa.

Mebuki moved to sit between them and nudged her husband. "He had to be to put up with your terrible jokes."

"He loved them."

"Not after the amount of takes it took to get _one_ photograph."

_She dreamed this. _Everything they were saying fitted in perfectly with her dream from a few nights prior.

"Déjà vu," she uttered.

Her parents stopped their squabbling to look at her.

"I dreamt this. Exactly how you described. I have seen this picture in my sleep," she told them, beginning to feel a strange excitement.

"I see it in my nightmares," Mebuki responded gruffly.

"Seriously, I recalled that day in my dreams, the other night," she insisted, finally looking away from the photo to observe her parents.

They smiled at her, but their faces remained flat. It was obvious that they were not going to question her, but they did not fully believe her either. Her epiphany was not going to spark up an engaging conversation. The event could not have been that long ago, and there was absolutely no reason why she would recall just the one day, those specific minutes of memories. She had gone to bed thinking about what had happened in the day which could have been a cause of her brain creating a story about photography. Only it was no story. Her dream was real, it had to be.

"It's not the first time it has happened."

"You were always a dreamer," her dad told her, still smiling.

"I remember things in my sleep and they're so realistic. They have to be memories."

Her parents didn't say anything. They watched her, but the silence began to grow into an awkward stretch of them not knowing how to respond. Her need for affirmation quickly built up within her.

"Why does nobody believe it?" she asked, getting increasingly frustrated.

"Anything can happen in a dream," Mebuki said slowly, "and they can feel so realistic that you think it's real."

She didn't want to hear any doubts. She couldn't handle that. Not here. Not now. She did not want her first feeling of hope in a while to be squashed by anybody's lack of enthusiasm.

She stood up and headed out of the room.

"Sakura..." her mum said quietly.

She didn't answer and continued through the living room into the hallway.

"Is there anything about dreams in your amnesia textbooks?" she heard her dad say.

"No, nothing."

She sighed. As an amnesic, it was already hard to trust her reality, especially in the ninja world. A lack of faith and belief from the people around her was enough to shake her questionable self-understanding. She doubted they didn't believe in her, but she wouldn't disagree with them for being uncertain of her mental state.

"I'm going to take a walk," she shouted and headed for the front door.

She received a tone of protest in reply, but ignored her mother's concerned call and left the house quickly.

She needed time to think, ironically, away from the place she had gone to do just that.

Perhaps the fresh air could calm her. It was a cloudy day, but the temperature was still comfortable to walk around Konoha without needing to wear any additional layers. Even if it was cold and rainy, Sakura doubted she would feel it as she was so lost in her own thoughts, she didn't begin to register where she was going. She just wanted to get away.

If only her family and friends would listen to her theories – even if they were crazy. Even if her dreams were only creating a sense of déjà vu and weren't real... Others trying to listen would help appease her inner-conflict. She got that nobody wanted to give her false hope, but arguing with her made her feel exhausted and all types of self-doubt.

Only Naruto seemed to be encouraged by her memories recalled through dreams. He even tried to help her remember things further despite the ridiculousness of telling her stories as she tried to get to sleep. Everyone else was sceptical. She might have been grasping at straws with all of her other theories but this one meant something to her. It was hard when everyone threw it back in her face.

She couldn't tell Naruto. He was the one she wanted to talk to about it. He was the only one who shared her excitement over her feeling like this really was something. Even if it was stupid and in the end was not true, it was still nice to feel a sense of encouragement and for once feel like she was getting somewhere.

Nobody else even tried to understand.

The problem was that Naruto was also encouraged by little white lies that she told him to try and cheer him up. She made up medical facts so he was not upset when she hit a snag with her condition. The people who didn't believe her were the scientists. They were people she highly respected and their knowledge was not easily questioned or doubted.

Naruto was great, but his optimism was just that, optimism. He believed her because he had faith in her and trusted her and because she said things with all good intentions. How could he continue to trust her after what she had said to him recently? Would there be a point where he did not encourage her decisions or believe what she did was for the best?

She wouldn't blame him. He already didn't understand her decision to step back from him. His hurt was clear in his face, in his smile that was so stupidly fake it killed her to see. Why did she have to put down the one person who made her feel like everything was all right? He made the bad good and the good better. She was crazy for letting that go.

However, she had done it before. She lied to him about going in the Forest of Death and he saw straight through her. He still let her make her stupid choice but stood behind her during it and after it. He didn't bring it up. He didn't scold her. How much could she mess up and him forgive her with no second thought? How much pain did he store internally but not want to share with her?

She did it for him, the things that hurt him, trying to remember even if it put her in danger or pushed her away from others... but she also realised she couldn't do it without him. He was a rock and she needed that stability and support. The bond she felt with him was unlike anything she shared with other people. When all she had to go off was feelings, not facts or memories, she was inexplicitly drawn to him.

No wonder she had cherished her time with him above solving her amnesia. What she felt for him was so strong; she didn't care about her own well-being. The problem with that was he was so selfless that if she wasn't happy he took it upon himself to make her so, like it was his responsibility. He was just too good. That's why she needed to remember. Her overcoming her amnesia would make him happy because it would make her comfortable again. Surely her memories made her who she is, and then she could be the person he had claimed to love. She could make him happy, and others happy.

It would be selfish of her to go back now. She wanted to believe that by living her old life, she would gravitate towards the new. She would understand who she was because she could develop again into the person she had been before her amnesia. At the very least, she could understand, in the most selfish of ways, why she wanted to remember. If she could let go of her friends' wishes, she could ultimately want to remember for herself. That needed to be key in the process of remembering.

Her emotions were a constant roller coaster. She was having mood swings all the time. One moment she was laughing and the next she was on the verge of frustrated tears. Her confusing thoughts led her in circles and she never quite felt like she had her feet firmly on the ground. She couldn't trust her past self, or her current self. She didn't even really know who she was then or now. She knew Naruto would get her through this period of uncertainty if she let him, but it was something she needed to do on her own.

Her footsteps slowed as she realised that perhaps she was not angry at her parents, or at her friends, but at herself. Her family and friends supported her and they did listen. She was the one having trouble believing herself. If she was stronger, if she was more confident in her abilities and herself, it wouldn't matter if nobody else was on the same page. Nobody could completely understand her. They couldn't go through her situation no matter how much they tried to sympathise. It couldn't be easy for them to help her when her whole situation was unknown and unpredictable.

She was lost, but she couldn't blame anybody but herself. It was her attitude towards her situation that affected how she felt.

Her dad would be joyous even if he had amnesia – as long as he had his family then he didn't care. He lived in the moment.

Naruto's situation wasn't ideal. He was so strong despite all he had been through and she would never fully understand his pain either. If he had amnesia... she couldn't see him changing, and she would stick by him no matter what.

She didn't know much about her other friends' pasts, if they were good or bad or ugly, but she was still surrounded by such strong personalities that she felt that she had the inner-strength to deal with her situation. She had to accept it at the very least. She had amnesia. She couldn't remember ten years of her life. She couldn't control chakra and heal or fight or do her job as a medical ninja of Konoha.

In the eyes of others, she had some sense of identity. Alone, she was a rather confused girl who wanted to be a good person. She wanted to be a medical ninja. She didn't want to be a burden or a worry to those around her.

That's what she knew.

She stopped walking.

She just didn't know how to achieve what she wanted.

"Hey, Sakura."

She looked up in surprise to see Kakashi stood in front of her. Immediately pulled out of her thoughts, she frowned slightly. Her friends were not supposed to approach her, but then she remembered Kakashi had not come to her little science experiment last week. Perhaps he was not told about her request. It was nice to see him, but she wouldn't admit that.

"You're not around very often," she scolded. "Did you not have pictures to share with me?"

Kakashi regarded her in silence for a moment. "I took frequent shifts to watch out for you when Tsunade asked for volunteers. I am around more than you think. I thought you looked a little lost, so..." he trailed off, as if regretting his decision to speak with her.

"I'm sorry," she apologised quickly, wishing she could take back her fake anger. "You're right. I'm feeling a little lost right now."

"We are all still here for you when you decide you want to see us. You are not alone."

So he had been informed. She wondered how much her friends spoke about her behind her back and whether they were all in on plans surrounding her that she was annoyingly unaware of. Kakashi popped up occasionally, more than she gave him credit for. If she needed him, he was there. He saved her life. He made her laugh. He made really lame excuses that both irked her and confused her. He usually avoided meaningful conversations but now he was here she was going to use him for just that.

"You are all so strong," she commented, letting out some of her thoughts, glad for someone to confide in. "You're good at acting like you don't care, that you're not affected by anything negative, or by my request to have you all keep your distance."

"They care. Your friends are not the type to let on what they're feeling, they may say one thing, but they'll always be there if you need them."

She gathered that. They were all so good at controlling themselves that she felt like she was the only one with more than a handful of emotions. It was like she was more human than any of her comrades. They were too good at being stoic. She just wanted to talk to them and for them to tell her how they were really feeling – she wanted the truth. She wanted more information from Kakashi and so decided to try and get him talking.

"Like Ino?"

"Like Ino."

"Like Naruto?"

"Sakura... If you can't see how much he tries to tell you he likes you, then you really are the same old Sakura."

She found she wasn't as comfortable talking about Naruto to other people than she was admitting her feelings to herself. She admitted she was confused over him, that she needed him, but she didn't even know if she could tell him that. She might need to in order to win him back when she was ready.

"Like Sai?" she continued, not dwelling on the topic of Naruto.

"I wouldn't bet on Sai emotionally. When you're having as many social issues as he is, you know you're in trouble."

Kakashi had said it in good humour, but she was curious about Sai's past. They all had their individual problems and Sai was more robotic than most. She wanted to know her friends' histories and what they had overcome.

"What happened with Sai?" she asked, watching Kakashi's face for any kind of emotional hints that were so unlikely to occur.

The masked man stood there with his hands in his pockets. He seemed tired, almost as lost in thought as she was.

"Sai had his emotions stripped away by ROOT, a once corrupt Konoha ANBU division that wanted unfeeling soldiers to do whatever it took to achieve mission objectives."

That was horrible. She couldn't believe anybody with such evil intentions existed in Konoha, now or in the past. Her thoughts drifted to Sasuke momentarily – he was her only run in with the dark side that she had experienced and anything evil that involved her friends made her skin crawl. But then she also remembered Sasuke as an innocent child, a boy who just lost his family. Seeing what he had become... she feared that kind of darkness.

Yet she still wanted to know what her friends had been through. She wanted to be as much comfort to them as they were to her. She realised Kakashi Hatake was not the best person to ask for detailed stories. He was more reserved than most. He cared and he would be there when you needed him, but he knew how to take a back seat and keep his thoughts to himself.

"And what about you?" she asked him.

His body language stiffened and she realised the discomfort her question put him in. Something in his eyes reflected demons she didn't think she could understand. Knowing this, she realised that if it hurt him to say it, she didn't want to ask about his past and problems. What if she forgot this day and asked him again? She would rather not risk being damagingly intrusive as much as possible.

"If you really need me, Sakura, I'll be there," he answered, partly avoiding the question.

That was enough. She wanted to get off the quickly plummeting subject. "Naruto and I needed you the other night... We had no money, were you there then?" She changed the topic and tried to sound as teasing as possible.

"...No."

She tapped her chin. "Naruto did say you're cheap with your money. How's that pet you were looking after for the old lady?"

"The hamster is fine."

She really didn't know when this guy was joking or not. He sounded dead serious. He looked it too, although he was definitely more relaxed than he was moments ago.

"Would I know you better, or are you always this mysterious?" she asked, only partly teasing.

He was an enigma.

"Sakura... I wear a mask."

That definitely helped.

"Point taken."

He chuckled and she smiled at him, glad for his shift in attitude.

"You know, I've been having short term memory issues."

He turned more serious.

"So you could totally show me your face and I'd forget it again."

"My face is unforgettable."

"Then you really need to show me it, it might even be helpful!" she insisted, mustering enthusiasm that she was not truly feeling after the day's events.

He reached out and placed his hand on her head, ruffling her hair in a slightly condescending, but comforting gesture. She knew she meant something to him. She could feel the bond even if she didn't properly understand it. A man like Kakashi... their friendship was probably built with small moments where they clicked, where they made each other laugh, or shout, or cry. Memories - she never missed them more than in these moments.

_Why are we friends, Kakashi, why do you like me?_

The question radiated within her as she looked up at him.

He slowly lowered his arm back to rest by his side.

"What do you think about my amnesia, Kakashi? Am I different? Are we different?"

There were so many questions constantly bouncing around in her head. She always wanted to know what people thought of her. She wanted to be the best version of her that she could be, whether she had to revert back to the past or work towards the future, she just wanted to be herself – a happy, strong individual.

"I was the team leader when the injury happened... There are a lot of people I have failed in my time as a shinobi... I never wished for you to be added to that list. I am sorry, Sakura."

She observed him lower his head to stare at the ground. He was showing her his human side, but it pained her to see him like this, to hear his sincere words. How could he blame himself? It was idiotic. It wasn't fair. This is what she hated most about her amnesia - her friends feeling guilty for a number of things that she wanted to furiously deny... But she couldn't remember the truth, so what good could she do by arguing?

"Kakashi... If there's anything I know it's the morality of the people I talk to. It's like seeing everything from an unbiased view. You're a good man, I know that much. I don't blame you for my injury and it would upset me if anybody took the blame but me."

He didn't answer.

She had not even thought about the traumatic event of physically obtaining her injury and the stress she put her friends through.

"Who else was there when I hit my head?"

"Naruto and Sai. Your head was bleeding and you were not regaining consciousness. Naruto thought you were dying... It was quite distressing to watch."

Her heart clenched painfully. She was sorry that she put her team through that. "He's good at hiding his hurt."

"He always has been around you."

"That's weird. I think I'm the opposite. I want to tell him everything that's wrong... He makes me feel better."

"He's good at that."

_Too good,_ she thought. "I do miss him."

"Then go and talk to him," Kakashi encouraged.

"But I wanted to see what life was like without him. I wanted to know how it feels to want to remember my old life for myself and not others. After thinking about it, I think he's better off without me."

It kept occurring to her that she had put Naruto in danger, got him in trouble, lied to him, hurt him, and he had not done a single thing to put her in harm's way – physically or emotionally. Surely it would be better for her not to go back to him and prevent any further pain.

"He spent a record amount of time in the hospital while you were unconscious. He spent longer in that room than he had spent in the hospital in his life."

"I don't think I deserve that," she admitted.

"If you really think you don't deserve him, then I think he deserves to be the judge of that."

_But he was so kind,_ she inwardly argued.

"Thank you for talking to me, Kakashi."

"Sometimes you just need to get your words out of your system," he told her.

She did feel like that. She wondered if he was referring to himself too. She must share some personality traits with her ex-self, although it didn't sound like it was the good ones. Internally festering thoughts until she had an emotional outburst? That was not a fun trait to have.

"I appreciate your friendship."

He nodded.

"And, Kakashi? I don't care if you personally hit me over the head. I don't remember what happened that day, but I hope I was a good enough person beforehand for you to have known that I hate that you're feeling guilty and that you're hurt over my problem. Please don't feel like you failed to protect me. You've saved my life in recent memory, and I'm sure you have in the past. You're important to me too. I want you be happy."

"I hope for the same for you."

She smiled at him as brightly as she could before walking up to him. As she past him, she punched him playfully on the shoulder because for some reason that felt like the best gesture. She didn't want to say an awkward goodbye, or say anything to hurt his feelings any further.

She continued to walk through the streets. If she stopped, she would probably break down completely. She felt even more fragile than when she left the house, as her thoughts consumed her and simmered under her skin.

Kakashi meant well, but the end of that conversation had depressed her. Naruto protected her fiercely, her other teammates too, she didn't want to imagine what it would be like if they thought she was dead. That time in her life would be something she would not want to remember. Even thinking about it put her on edge.

She kept her head low, hoping not to run into anybody else. She was going to take the next turn and find somewhere to sit alone. People meant well, but she wouldn't be so bothered about forgetting all about them if they didn't.

When she heard footsteps in the distance in front of her, she raised her head to see if it was someone else she knew. It wasn't and she breathed a sigh of relief.

However, as she studied them, her footsteps began to slow down.

Did she know them?

When their pace slowed also, she was almost sure of it. She did not make any eye contact, but continuously glanced back and forth between them as inconspicuously as possible as they grew closer.

The two people in front of her did not fit in. One was a male and the other was a female. They were both taller than her and likely older. The girl had blonde hair styled in what looked like four ponytails behind her head. The male had a black hood that covered the top and sides of his face but she noticed odd purple face paint on his skin. The pair were both dressed in black outfits that did not mirror Konoha's clothing styles at all.

Judging by their forehead protectors, they were from the Sand village. It would be possible for her to know them – she was the Hokage's apprentice after all and likely had opportunities to travel and meet representatives from other towns. Being a ninja who went on missions would also mean she could know them.

Almost immediately, however, she began to talk herself out of it. What was the chance she knew them? The fact that they were from another village massively decreased the chance that she was aware of their existence. They likely slowed because she was staring at them. For all she knew, they could have been sizing her up for some kind of fight. Who knew what the inhabitants of the places outside Konoha were like - she had barely been outside the gates.

She didn't trust her brain. She didn't want any trouble. She sped up again, avoiding eye contact completely and looking beyond them below face height. Their footsteps also sped up to their previous speed which was a good thing because their whole face off walk was awkward.

As they got closer to her, they broke apart to walk around her. She tensed as she walked through the middle, but not because she thought they were going to attack her. She doubted it would be allowed considering the level of protection the Hokage and her friends had bestowed upon her so far. But these two were just... familiar? It was a strange feeling.

If she was with a friend, she would ask them if she had met the couple before. But she had pushed her friends away. She shook her head to clear the thoughts and risked one more glance at the Sand couple. She caught them looking over their shoulders at her. They looked back in front of them as soon as she noticed them staring.

She might have known them. She might have not. They either didn't know her enough to place her face, or they knew her so well that news of her amnesia had reached them and they were keeping a respectful distance.

She didn't want to speak to anybody else for a while anyway and so ploughed on along her path. She decided it would be best to head for her house if she wanted to find some peace and quiet.

However, she was stopped in her tracks again when a high-pitched female voice called after her. "Sakura-chan!"

She didn't recognise it, but with a put-on smile, she turned around and looked for the source.

The two Sand villagers had disappeared by now, and a young girl with short brown hair was running up to her. Two adults (likely her parents) followed her more slowly.

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!" The girl shouted in excitement.

_Unlikely family,_ she thought. She didn't remember having any baby cousins who this could have been.

"Hi there," she replied, trying to sound enthusiastic.

The girl slowed down when she reached her, but bounced up and down on the spot. "Sakura-chan! Do you remember me?"

Oh dear.

She couldn't exactly say 'no'. The girl beamed up at her, two big brown eyes excitedly waiting for her reply. She did not want to crush such happiness – she had already been enough trouble today.

Bending down onto one knee, she looked at the girl head on and decided that she could do nothing but be honest. "I recently hit my head," she began to explain, "and I've lost some of my memories."

She inwardly winced as the child's excitement withered and she seemed to shrink. Her eyes even began to tear up as she realised that she wasn't recognised. Sakura could barely maintain her own smile - her cheeks hurt it was so fake.

The young girl's lip quivered.

"I can't even remember my friends... Were you my friend?" Sakura continued, trying desperately to stop any waterworks that were going to take place.

What were the parents going to think? Did she know them too? She glanced at them to see they had stopped a few meters away from the scene - the looks of pity did not go un-missed by Sakura. She assumed most of Konoha knew of her amnesia. She hadn't been informed of this, but she noticed the looks people in the streets gave her. When she looked at people they avoided eye contact, but she felt their gazes linger on her when she turned away.

The little girl sniffed, but nodded her head slowly.

"Yeah, I bet you were." Sakura smiled at her, returning her full attention to her. "You're such a pretty little thing."

"You said that before," the girl mumbled sadly.

"I'm sure I did... Hey, if I ever get my memories back, you'll be the first person I remember."

The girl perked up at the thought. "Really?"

"Of course. Don't tell me your name, when I remember, I'll tell you it. OK?" Sakura said before nodding encouragingly, although she doubted she sounded that convincing.

"OK. If you promise."

"I promise, when I remember, I'll find you."

"You healed my head, I know you'll heal your own," the girl said, suddenly full of confidence once more, she smiled up at her again. And then she was skipping around and away from her.

Crying averted – for the child at least. Sakura could barely offer a polite smile to the adults. The parents began walking again, they smiled back at her as they passed, but said nothing.

Sakura watched them go, standing upright to watch them.

"It's a real pity, she was such a sweet girl," she heard the mother mutter to her husband.

"We're lucky Sakura didn't get amnesia before our baby was admitted to hospital."

"Oh, there are other great Konoha medics."

"Yes, but it is a shame, Sakura really was something."

"She's still a nice girl."

"If only you could heal with words."

"You'd be a medical prodigy if that was the case."

Their voices faded away but Sakura still stood in the same spot on the path, even when the family were well out of earshot and she could no longer listen to their opinions about her. She suddenly felt very empty, hollow on the inside and everything around her seemed to grow darker.

She knew now, however much she didn't originally believe it, that she used to be something. To some she was a life saver, she was a best friend, a teammate, a love interest, a long-time student, a medic part of a thriving profession and now... she was just a girl, a nice girl, but nothing special. She was something. Now she was lost.

She immediately felt the need to go to Naruto and kicked herself. He was a safety net that she felt the need to grab every time she wobbled. She knew he would somehow help her out of this depressing metal state, but she didn't want to go to him with her problems all the time. She knew for a fact that he seemed to keep his own problems to himself and wouldn't share them with her. He didn't want to burden her with his sorrow, so she wouldn't hurt him with her own.

That didn't mean that she knew what to do though. She felt deflated, broken and useless. She wanted desperately to remember that girl's name, just so she'd never have to see the spirit in her eyes break completely. She wanted to say to the parents that she was more than just a nice girl, and that she could be a great medic again.

Not that she believed it herself.

Her own eyes began to tear up and she dragged her feet along the path before sitting down on the nearest pavement.

As soon as she sat on the stone, the tears began to fall down her cheeks and she cried into her hands.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

In two days, it will be the two year anniversary of me posting Amnesia to this website. The story itself is older than that but it's probably good that it took me a while to start posting it because my current uploading record is 0.75 chapters a month. Oh dear. I will try and increase that ratio before this story is finished.

A lot of this chapter is new ideas. I only recently decided Sakura would go back to her parents and some scenes throughout the chapter are newly thought-up too. The scene where Sakura meets the young girl was written at least a year ago and Kakashi's input in the chapter is also fairly old. It's all putting together a puzzle of old and new pieces. I can see the end from where we are... but I think I have been saying that for at least a year and the chapters keep getting more, unplanned additions.

We are getting over the depressing part and the next chapter will start to look up. Shame on me for ruining the 'be appreciative for what you've got' and 'life is all about perspective' moods by ending on this note.

Thank you to all new and old readers. Your feedback, however long or short, in reviews or PM's is always interesting and great fun to read.

That reminds me – no, this is not going to turn into a NaruHina/SasuSaku/any other romantic pairing fan fic. It will remain NaruSaku. Sakura attempting to let go of Naruto and her friends is by far an uncaring act. In fact in her mind, intentions are quite the opposite!

Thanks for reading.


	19. Moving On

**Amnesia**

Chapter 19: Moving On

* * *

><p>Sakura didn't know how long it had been since she collapsed on the side of the path. Nobody had passed by and she sobbed until there were no tears left to escape her reddened eyes. Crying, she hoped, would let out all of her frustrations from the past few days. But in the end, she did not feel relieved, just very tired. She thought she had reached her lowest point when she bailed out on her friends' memory test and cut all ties with Naruto. It turned out she had not reached the bottom yet. She couldn't get any lower to the ground – literally.<p>

Eventually, someone did pass by and it was someone she knew very well.

"...Sakura?" Ino said quietly as she approached.

Sakura immediately wiped her eyes with her hands and looked up. If she'd had the energy to hide her sorrow better she would have done. She needed to get the tears out of her system. Only then would she be able to pick herself up and attempt to move on. She was trying to do that alone, but nobody seemed to like that idea. She couldn't avoid people if she tried. Granted, she did travel straight through the streets of her hometown. Next time she was finding a better hiding spot. However, she had a feeling that wherever she hid, her friends would always find her.

Ino placed her hands on her knees and bent towards her, bringing herself closer to ground level to study her friend better. The blonde managed to keep a straight face and looked at her passively. Sakura was glad she wasn't being pitied yet (not that she had much energy to truly care). Ino probably knew her better than she knew herself and liked to claim it too. After their childhood together, after the past couple of months, Sakura wasn't stunned to see Ino didn't look surprised at all to find her crying on the side of the pavement. In fact, that was how they first met.

Recalling that memory, after pulling up so many blanks with other life events, should bring a certain level of satisfaction for her, but it didn't. She didn't want to recall how lonely and sad she was before Ino found her. She didn't want to remember the fear of trying to walk beside her first friend and speak up for herself. The bullies could stay buried, her apparent childhood naivety could be drowned and any cruelty she inflicted on others as the result of sudden misplaced confidence could go to hell.

She didn't want that back.

But the kindness of her friends, the fun, the nostalgic memories that brought emotions and laughter... she wanted that back desperately. She wanted to know all the names of her patients that she looked after as a medic. She wanted to be somebody and make someone feel special because she remembered the little people. If she never remembered, that little girl's quivering smile and teary eyes would haunt her for the rest of her life.

"There was this girl," Sakura admitted with a slight sniffle.

Even though she was most confident in Naruto's ability to cheer her up, he was on her 'don't let them see me cry' list. Ino wasn't - the girl knew what she was like, or at least what she used to be like. She had no problem spilling her troubles to her best female friend and she had a feeling that Ino enjoyed it more than she should.

If anything, Ino poked fun at her issues so much that she reduced them to trivial matters. Her teasing was not unlike Tsunade's, done right and it managed to make her happier - although it could easily frustrate her or bring on any other emotion depending on her mood. She just had to trust the girl to judge and manipulate her appropriately.

Being hunched over for so long had started to make her feel cramp, so she was about ready to get up from the pavement.

"She must have been no older than seven, a past patient," Sakura continued, sitting up straighter as she recalled the scene that had continued to replay in her head. She wanted desperately to forget that innocent face on the brim of an emotional breakdown.

"Ah, little children still make you cry. You know, medics are supposed to be detached," Ino said in attempt at uplifting conversation.

She must have been the worst professional medic in the world because she was emotionally attached to everyone. She still had trouble believing she was a ninja sometimes. She found it hard to imagine hurting others seriously, or lying, or hiding in the shadows and making a quick getaway from other people. She wished she could do the last two though.

She could see herself being a medic, but only because she wished she could heal others. She wanted to help her friends and she wanted to protect innocent people. She would rather be attached than truly detached. She would rather give up her ability to harm others altogether if it meant she could save those she cared about.

Then again, her friends were great ninjas and she couldn't see them being ruthless killers either. If she had not seen Naruto sparring with Kakashi, and fighting Sasuke, she wouldn't have believed he could hurt a fly. Sasuke... She could see him being ruthless and cruel, but Naruto (and apparently even she) was determined to bring him back to Konoha, so he had to have a good side. Naruto must see the best in everyone - that was probably why he was so attached to her as well.

She was constantly living on such a limited spectrum of information, which is what she was struggling with. If you had knowledge that could harm others at least you had a conscious choice to omit it from conversations and your actions. If you don't know something, even words, or a lack of words, can cause damage. She brought up topics that were best left dormant and she didn't always know what to say to appease the awkward situations that she put her friends in.

"It upset her that I didn't know who she was. I promised that I would remember her, but I just feel so... hollow, empty, and useless, a shell of what I used to be. It was more what the parents said afterwards. I don't think they knew I could hear them." Sakura gave her a half smile. "I can only imagine what it's like to find your purpose in life. I know what it's like to lose it."

Ino stood there in silence, a look of sympathy beginning to etch across her face. Sakura did not expect the blonde to know what to say. No words could change her situation. Only time would allow her to get over her faults and give her opportunities to claw back her forgotten knowledge. The more time that passed, the more irrelevant her forgotten knowledge would become. She would have longer to work on re-learning skills too.

"You know, I couldn't find my ribbon," Sakura said in a lame attempt to change the topic.

"Do you want it back?"

She shook her head. She was only interested in where it had gone. Everything in her old home had been put back into place, yet Ino's ribbon, which she saw as a symbol of her childhood, made no such appearance. Not that she would wear it now. She was comfortable without the accessory. "I don't think it would suit me, do you?"

"No, Forehead, not with your personality."

"Or my hairstyle."

Ino reached down and held out her hand. Sakura accepted the offer and allowed her friend to pull her up. They stood there for a moment and Sakura looked at their conjoined hands. It was almost as if this moment was something more. Ino wasn't even smiling at her - she just stared at her seriously and slightly curiously.

Sakura was the first to lower her hand. "Did I give you the ribbon back?"

Ino replied with an unenthusiastic half-shrug. "You did... I was quite offended."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh. Growing up _offended_ her friend?

"But it was probably more the fact that you broke our friendship and declared us rivals over Sasuke."

She cringed. Happy conversations were always killed by Sasuke's name and especially if her past behaviour towards him was brought up. The thought of chasing that boy and pushing away Ino to do so made her skin crawl.

Ino noted her crude facial expression. "That's what I thought. No way in hell is Sakura going to get Sasuke over me." She snorted. "You tried, but frankly you were much more awkward with your attempts to win him over. I was cool about it. You got braver but still-"

"Please stop," she cried, unable to bear the building mental images of her awkward past.

Ino grinned at her. "See? You've forgotten some pretty embarrassing moments. I will laugh at you behind your back, which is great fun."

"Are you trying to make me cry again?" Sakura grumbled, beginning to walk away. There was a point when Ino flipped her emotions from recently comforted to seriously going back down the depressed route.

"I'm trying to cheer you up," Ino explained as she jogged to catch up and fall in step with her.

"Well, you suck."

They lapsed into silence. Sakura didn't particularly feel like speaking to her best friend any more due to the fear of getting worked up over something stupid (or serious). Ino seemed to notice her mood because she said no more on the topic and simply linked their arms together as they walked side by side down the path.

Eventually, Ino broke the tense atmosphere.

"All I'm saying is you have not lost everything."

Evidence of that was everywhere. Her friends. Her family. Her home. She had a lot. She lost a lot but she didn't lose her true self. So many things can go wrong with a brain injury. She could have been changed mentally to the point where her whole reality was morphed into something it was not. She still had sense – a sense, that as a child, she was never sure she could confidently develop.

Her lips upturned slightly and she stopped walking. "The bud bloomed?"

"Yeah, Forehead, into a pretty great flower."

It was a bittersweet fact.

They walked back to the Haruno household after that. Sakura didn't voice her appreciation for her friend's words, but gave her a quick hug when they reached their destination. As she opened the door to her parents' house, she paused on the spot.

Ino seemed to sense this and looked back at her from halfway down the path.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Sakura called, "Want to meet tomorrow? Unless you're busy?"

Ino looked taken aback, but quickly recovered. "I'm free! When?"

"Lunchtime? Say, twelve?" she suggested.

Ino smirked at her. "Sick of your parents' cooking already?"

Sakura quickly glanced inside to check nobody was in earshot of that comment. She didn't want to offend them. "It's better than mine at least, but lunch out would be nice."

Ino laughed and began walking again. "Sure thing. See you at twelve."

If she was supposed to feel disappointed in herself for giving in on her total-friendship ban, she wasn't. She needed the girl talk. Besides, Ino was part of her old life and she remembered her, so being around the blonde felt as part of her old life as it did new.

When she headed into the kitchen, she was greeted with two worried stares.

"I had a talk with Ino. I'm all good. Sorry for walking out like that, I just needed to clear my head."

Of course her parents forgave her and looked incredibly relieved. However, she didn't want to talk about the incident. After kissing her parents on the cheek, she excused herself and went to bed.

Emotionally drained, she had no trouble falling asleep.

* * *

><p>"So do you not see me as a friend? Or are you completely failing at your new lone ranger lifestyle?" Ino asked as she tucked into her lunch.<p>

Annoyed by the prospect of 'completely failing', she bit back, "You were part of my life before the memory loss. You don't count."

"Good because you're a great excuse. I was supposed to fill in some paperwork for the Hokage today, but I say 'I'm meeting Sakura!' and poof! I'm off the hook."

Sakura stared at her friend in disappointment and mild annoyance. "You said you weren't busy."

"If it was anything else, I would have turned you down but- kidding, kidding. I wanted to meet you." Ino rolled her eyes.

Appeased, Sakura gestured to herself as she said, "I want to do paperwork and hospital shifts."

"Then do it."

Sakura frowned. There were tasks she could manage at her old workplace and she had tried many non-chakra jobs over the course of her visits. But she was afraid; afraid of meeting past patients like that little girl, afraid of bumping into her friends after she had made her relationships with other people so awkward and complex. Mostly, she disliked the feeling of wanting to do more, but not having the ability to do so.

When the real medics rush off to save lives in emergencies and she's left standing there - when her entire sense of worth is questioned because she can't help. Ino would be this amazing medical ninja and she would be the little girl standing behind her in awe of the Yamanaka's confidence and skill. Their current position was unlike their childhood together. Ino was so cool. Sakura just wanted to be like her.

"I'm a medic too," Sakura said, "did I copy you?"

"Actually, you were a medic first."

A rush of pride filled her. She didn't expect that. She was a medic first. Despite her predicament, she smiled to herself. "Did you copy me?"

Ino snorted but didn't deny it, causing Sakura's lips to lift into a full grin. She would relish in her small victory because she loved getting the chance to tease the girl back. Ino was very good at spinning stories, making it hard to get any embarrassing gossip on the blonde. You couldn't poke fun at someone who seemed perfect, and would have you believe so too.

"You did help me out when I first started training."

That added to her amazement. At some point in her life, she managed to switch the trajectory of their relationship and teach her friend for once. She must have been so happy with herself during those training sessions, especially with something so important. Helping Ino learn to be a medic, if she was any good at teaching, should have been a big impact on the blonde's success. Taking their teasing bond into account, she wondered if she was ever big-headed about it.

"Was I ever cocky in those training sessions?"

Ino smiled genuinely and there was no teasing sparkle in her eyes when she answered, "Not at all."

Then she could be proud of herself. Of course she would take those moments very seriously and try her best to help the girl who had protected her throughout their childhood. There was a time and place for gloating about what you were good at. Teaching others wasn't one of those times.

"You never take credit for what you do. You don't like being the centre of attention."

That was also true of now. All the effort that surrounded her overwhelmed her with a sense of appreciation, but also apprehension. She was one person. She may have a brain injury and be friends with some amazing people, but those people had lives and she didn't want to be the middle of every issue or thought. Even now, even when she told everyone to give her space, she knew in her heart they were still thinking of her – likely as much as she was thinking about them.

By pushing them away, she just hoped they didn't feel like she was totally lost and lonely. She hoped they didn't think that she only did it because she couldn't cope or handle them and their plans. She had a sudden urge to tell them that. She was OK. She was just trying to figure things out without the input of those who had the ability to sway her judgement so easily.

"Ino," she said with sudden fervour, making the girl look up at her, slightly startled. "I didn't push you all away because you're too much for me. I did it because I wanted an uninfluenced view of my situation. Can you say that to everyone for me?"

Ino looked at her as if she had just stated the obvious. "We know."

"You might, but others might not. I left the room in a tizzy and-"

"Sakura," Ino interrupted, "_we know_."

Ino looked so sure of it too.

"How?"

"You've always tried to do things on your own. You're as bad as Naruto sometimes."

Did Naruto understand then? She would find that very hard to believe. _If he was really like me,_ she thought, _he would want to help me through every step of this because that's what I would want to do for him. _He was always there for her. She needed to make it clear to him that she was fine, she would go back to him, she knew that before she said goodbye. She needed to know he was all right. She was sticking with her plan to distance herself from him, but she was giving up the fight when it came to stopping him from invading her mind.

"Can you tell it to Naruto at least? Is he OK?" she asked, almost wincing at the potential answer of _no_.

Ino's eyebrows knitted together in thought. "You've always done this to him, Sakura. He trusts you'll be OK. He just wishes he could do everything for you."

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and put her head in her hands because that knowledge hurt her. Her heart couldn't handle it. Her chest physically ached. She would take a thousand blows to the head if she could be as good to him as he was to her. She just wanted him to be happy. She should have wanted that before her amnesia. That's why she didn't understand why she had done things like this before. This time she had a reason, but she highly doubted she had a decent motive for denying Naruto and putting him down considering his golden attitude towards her.

"What happened between the ages of eight and eighteen that made me push away someone who was prepared to give me positive attention?" Sakura voiced her thoughts. "You would think someone bullied and starved of positive reinforcement as a child would strive for it in later life."

"I think you grew beyond that. You always shied away from any attention. It embarrassed you. You would hide behind me."

She may have been a shy child and feared the consequences of putting herself out there, but that still didn't excuse her later actions. The behaviour she displayed in the visions that Sasuke showed her made her hate herself. She didn't understand why Naruto put up with it, or even why Sasuke put up with it. No wonder he enjoyed going through her to hurt Naruto. Yet she definitely didn't understand why Sasuke hated Naruto, or why anyone could hate him. To her, that was an impossible feat.

Ino continued, "You work so hard and never expect anything back, not even a 'thank you for saving my life.' I still think you get embarrassed when you receive compliments."

"It sounds like I get complimented a lot."

Ino laughed. "Only by Naruto."

She hummed, not wanting to comment.

However, Ino added, "And you blush or hit him for it, or do both."

Naruto did embarrass her by being sweet, but she knew he didn't deserve to get hit for it. Later on, when she recalled his words, it always made her smile. All Naruto had was a shiny bruise to show for it. He persisted though, so she silently gave him a lot of credit and wouldn't admit that she didn't want him to stop being as sweet as he was.

Although maybe he could tone it down in front of other people, and maybe stop talking a little bit sooner before he had a chance to completely change the meaning of his sentences. Even then, she knew what he meant, so she shouldn't really get mad. It was just something she had to do.

She sighed. "I don't understand myself."

"Nobody does," Ino admitted.

Sakura shot her friend a less than impressed look.

"What?" Ino smirked. "OK, I understand that you get embarrassed and badly cover it up, but I don't understand why you bother. Just date the guy."

This reoccurring topic didn't bother her so much anymore. She wanted to know what people thought of her and Naruto before and after she hit her head. She didn't understand why she wouldn't date him in the past, but now it was a different story. She was messed up in the head – that could cause nothing but pain for those closest to her.

"Maybe if I didn't have amnesia, Ino. Did you talk to me about this beforehand?"

"When I could, but you always got so defensive and dodged my questions. We didn't used to have as much girl talk as we do now, unless one of us was clearly upset."

"So my curiosity has done good for our friendship?"

Ino shrugged. "We understand each other, so we don't have to discuss everything. I like when you explain how you feel to me though, although you often just confirm what I thought. You never used to talk about your feelings."

She had so many feelings, but she just kept them churning internally. Sometimes, she was inwardly crumbling, but she had to try so hard to keep a smile on her face.

"Do you know why?" she asked.

"Denial," Ino stated. "That and probably fear of me acting on them. If you told me you like a guy, I'm sure I could set you up with him by the end of the week."

The thought occurred to her that she could be set up with Naruto by the end of the week - if he wasn't angry at her. She almost wished he was mad at her, not just for now but for the past. He deserved an apology that she knew he wouldn't accept. Their relationship was so complicated.

"Why are you distancing yourself from him anyway? You clearly don't want to, and he doesn't want it either. If you want me to go and check he's OK, why can't you do that?"

"I just can't!" she snapped.

"Woah, chill, Forehead, I wasn't picking at you, I just asked why."

Sakura sighed. "I'm sorry."

Put off by the mood swing, Ino sat back in her chair and looked at her but said no more.

Perhaps this was why they didn't have much girl talk. Ino pushed and she just wanted to push back. When it came to Naruto, she could barely accept the obvious truth of their relationship and their actions. If she let him be, they could be happy together... but could they ever be as happy as they could have been?

"Would he be happier if I had my memories?" Sakura looked at her friend seriously, saddened by the question that could potentially go forever unanswered. Her whole current life was on a constant tipping point that could go either way.

"I think he'd rather just spend the time with you, Sakura. He'd rather try and help you."

When he helped her, she enjoyed herself too much to truly care about the outcome of their training experiments. Only afterwards, did she think about his potential disappointment. He never showed it, but he seemed to try so hard to forever stay positive and encouraging.

"When I'm not with him, I have more motivation to try and remember."

Ino studied her seriously. "It doesn't matter if you're motivated and have the best medics in the world backing you... It won't just make you remember. You're playing this like you have control over the outcome."

Sakura's heart dipped at the comment, even if it was what she needed to hear from her best friend. Since she woke up in hospital, she had been playing it like she had control over the outcome. She had acted like the amount of effort she put in would equal gaining back all she had lost. She felt guilty when she didn't try because it obviously wouldn't help her. She felt sad when she tried and nothing came of it, even if that couldn't help her either.

She wasn't ready to cut her loses yet.

"For now, I'm not going back on what I said."

"Okay."

Ino didn't look surprised at her decision and stared back at her with mild aggravation. The blonde just wanted her and Naruto together too much - as if she believed romance would solve all of their problems. Thinking about Naruto romantically had only increased her guilt and confusion and sometimes made her feel slightly giddy at the prospect.

For now, they would both have to be lonely because she had nothing to show for their time apart yet. That still didn't stop her worrying that he was hurting.

"Naruto does have friends right?"

"Naruto has loads of friends," Ino affirmed.

Relief washed over her at the confirmation.

"That doesn't mean he'll go and be with them though. He can still choose to sulk because you broke up with him."

Sakura directed an unimpressed look at the blonde, but Ino wasn't affected.

"By the way, Tsunade wanted me to tell you that she wants to see you."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. But she had said she didn't want to see any of her new friends!

Ino rolled her eyes. "You can't completely avoid everyone, you know. Besides, she's the Hokage, you would see her every now and again, and you have to do what she says."

The Hokage ignoring her orders to be alone shouldn't be a surprise. She had a feeling that even if Tsunade wasn't the leader of the village, she still wouldn't respect her wishes.

"Then I'll go see her," Sakura announced, pushing her chair back and standing up.

She placed money on the table for her half of their lunch and headed for the door.

"You owe me money by the way!" Ino called after her.

Certain she had paid the right money, she called back over her shoulder, "For your consulting services?"

"No! But if I started charging for things like that I would be a millionaire!"

She waved her hand dismissively in the air. She had learnt to ignore a lot of Ino's claims. If she didn't, she would be giving up all sorts of information and be a lot poorer.

She would admit that Ino was good at cheering her up, but she didn't quite live up to Naruto's happiness-inducing standards. It was probably to do with their different approaches. Sakura didn't always feel like she had gained things out of her talks with Ino, and more often than not felt like she lost something at the same time. Whether it was pride, knowledge or money, Ino always had a way to profit from their interactions.

* * *

><p>Sakura was nervous about meeting her mentor. What if the Hokage was mad for some reason? What if she was going to order her to interact with her friends again when she clearly wasn't ready? She didn't know what the woman could possibly want. She didn't know her as well as she used to – she may have never known her that well, because Tsunade was a brick wall of emotion.<p>

Then Sakura kicked herself. Tsunade had been nothing but supportive of this plan – her mentor had even told her friends the news so that she didn't have to do it and face them in her fragile state. Tsunade hadn't got in touch with her beforehand; she might just be checking that everything was going all right. She might have had some kind of medical breakthrough!

No. There was no use getting her hopes up for something like that. It wasn't fair on herself or her mentor, to expect so much, to expect a miracle. However, surely Tsunade had some interesting theories about everything else going on. The Hokage had done a lot of research. Perhaps they could look at it together and not get anyone else involved. That way, it limited the damage of the amount of people getting too hopeful.

Tsunade was realistic, if not sceptical about the whole ordeal. Hopefully, the woman could handle their likely failures a lot better than she could, and a lot better than some of her incredibly invested friends.

Then if they tried everything and got nowhere, she could accept that there was no point in trying to figure out who she once was. She would have to believe that her past would not come back to haunt, or liberate her. She would just have to be who she was at this moment. If that happened, she decided, she would allow her friends to teach her the basics of everything and get a job as a nurse at the hospital. She would be as helpful as she could, but not get so involved when she would be blocked by the impossible.

That scenario ensured she didn't hurt herself or her friends. If there was no hope, there was no chance of dreams being crushed. They could just accept it. Sakura didn't want to believe that was an option because if it became a reality it would break part of her. But she wouldn't let it break others too. She would go back to her friends and apologise and say that she knew who she wanted to be.

Once she went back to them, she would do everything she could to be the best friend possible for Naruto and whatever happened between them would happen. Even if he would never have the past her, he would have the present and the future and she just hoped that would be enough to make him happy.

Alternatively, if Tsunade helped her come up with a plan, if something showed promise... she would deal with that when it came to it. Her nervous butterflies were returning and this time it wasn't about what Tsunade might say. She wasn't sure why she should feel nervous over potentially getting somewhere.

If she succeeded, everything would change. If she were to remember everything one day, would she be a different person? Would she feel the same way about all that she had experienced? Would she suddenly feel differently about friends and those most important to her now?

Regaining her old memories would give her the power to judge people differently, for better or for worse. How she turned out would depend on her past self. Thinking that was giving her an odd sense of pressure in her chest. The longer she chased the past, the more she wondered if she wanted it.

She should. She should want it. She told herself that again and again. She told her friends all the time that she wanted to remember and it was all she had worked for since waking up in hospital. But it had been months and all she had done was chase smoke and get others to do the same.

Yet if she could control chakra her life would also transform and she saw no negative repercussions. She could protect herself, meaning her friends had much less to worry about, and she could help people. Remembering meant she could be who she wanted to be.

The biggest fear with either of those options was the potential of further deterioration of her brain function. The thought of developing anterograde amnesia terrified her. Experiencing it once had shaken and panicked her. Before it, she was starting to cope with her situation. Now she was stressed. She was terrified.

If it happened again, if it got worse she would no longer be aware of her life. She could only imagine the pain it would put her friends through. It wouldn't matter to her then, because she wouldn't know it had happened. What would Naruto do? He would stick by her, he would take care of her and he would never get back from her what he deserved. She couldn't let that happen.

She needed to get reassurance from Tsunade that it wouldn't happen, or at least pre-plan her life if she was suddenly going to no longer be able to retain experiences. If it was going to happen, she didn't want to fix things with Naruto. She didn't want to give him responsibility over her, knowing she could develop mental issues. That would be selfish of her.

Considering how much she had wanted to spend time with him and how much he had invaded her thoughts since she distanced herself, she didn't think she would ever get over him. She wouldn't know, though. If she could no longer remember new experiences, she would be stuck in this state of emotional frustration forever.

If tomorrow, she woke up and thought the day was today, she would probably die earlier due to self-induced stress because she had put herself in a situation that she didn't want to be in.

Now she wanted to make amends with everyone. She couldn't allow her last sane words to Naruto to be pushing him away. However, that might be better for him. If she was cruel, it would make it easier for him to get over her.

No. She couldn't do that to him either. Seeing the pain would lock her in a prism of guilt forever.

_Well, Sakura,_ she thought, _let's just really hope that you don't develop anterograde amnesia._

Hopefully, Tsunade had good news, or at least not bad news.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked the door that lead into the Hokage's office.

"Come in!"

After a moment of hesitation, she stood up straight, exhaled deeply and opened the door.

Tsunade's desk was as busy as ever, stacked high with paperwork. Sakura often wondered if the woman ever got any work done. Every time she saw her, the pile only got higher. That could very well still be the same amnesia research that was there last time. At that thought, she swallowed and tore her gaze away from the papers to look at the Hokage's face.

She must have still looked nervous, because Tsunade smiled at her and stated, "I won't keep you long. I just thought I'd give you this..." Tsunade held up a plain black book.

Sakura walked forward and accepted the item. It looked like a leather bound diary. She flicked through it to see it was completely blank.

"It's an empty diary," Tsunade explained, "it might help with your short-term memory blip. At the very least, you can look back and see if you'd made plans the day before."

Sakura smiled at the kind thought. "Thank you."

"Now you can go away."

Sakura started to laugh. "Out of interest..."

Tsunade looked at her.

"It will just be a blip, right?"

"It is possible to get both retrograde and anterograde amnesia." Tsunade must have registered the panic on her face because she quickly added, "But it's rare and realistically should have happened before now. I think it will be a one-off."

Sakura stared at the diary in her hand. "Then why give me the book, shishou?"

"Emotional comfort."

It was incredibly comforting to have, but was it just for comfort? Did Tsunade really believe her own words? She often preached that amnesia was unpredictable. She never stated that she thought one thing or another would happen, but she didn't lie to her either about serious, medical issues. Would she? Would Tsunade say something so positively, lie, to make her feel better?

Sakura could only hope that wasn't the case, because anterograde amnesia terrified her more than any of her other problems. Tsunade likely knew that, saw that. It wouldn't be fair, but then again, amnesia wasn't either. She could only feel so sorry for the unlucky amnesiacs with issues on both ends of the memory spectrum – not that they would know or understand their mental problems.

If the Hokage wasn't going to help her plan her post-anterograde amnesia life, then they could only speculate on why she had the issue as a one-off.

"Any theories on why I'm having more memory issues now?"

The Hokage was silent for a moment. She crossed her arms over the desk and settled her with a steady gaze. "I'm a scientist. So are you. But you have always had a little more faith in faith than me. I'd like to believe that there is a fact-based reason behind your regression, but I want to believe that it's because of you mentally."

What? Now she was questioning if she was really talking to the Hokage. Ninjas could change their appearances, right? She was about to ask if she was really talking to Naruto, when the sannin continued.

"I'd like to say that it's an unconscious warning that you are straying off course. That you're not going to remember anything this way... The whole not trying phase you went through."

"So it's me not wanting to remember and my unconscious wanting to remember, is that what you think?" Sakura frowned, swapping parts with her mentor, taking her turn to say no to a plan because... to start with it gave her too much credit. She didn't believe in herself mentally. She had turned sceptical to hopeful plans over the past couple of days.

"Ino always used to say that there were two people in your head," Tsunade commented with a smile.

Sakura didn't say anything. She came here expecting the worst, expecting cruel honesty, so she couldn't buy into this explanation.

The Hokage must have seen her doubt. "Sheesh, you don't see Naruto for a few days and I become the more positive of the two of us?"

She wasn't that bad! She was just... willing to give up on a hopeful future entirely? Feared the worst? Feared the best?

"The logical reason would be that you have further brain damage that we did not originally see, or it's developed because of the damage already caused. You damaged your hippocampus, which can cause both retrograde and anterograde amnesia. However, the fact that you didn't develop anterograde amnesia straight away would deter the theory that it was so badly damaged that both retrieving and creating new memories would be impossible forever. Other parts of your brain were untouched."

That sounded more scientific and so calmed her slightly, even if it wasn't foolproof.

"Still, I see why you like to have faith in the fixable illnesses and power of the patient."

Sakura managed to hold back an eye roll. "It's easier to have faith in somebody else, not so much when it's yourself. I kept thinking 'something will trigger all my memories and they'll all come flooding back. I'll go here where this apparently happened and remember everything.' It's not happened."

"Deep down you want to remember, but on the surface you're unsure. Does that make sense?"

It made so much sense she didn't want to admit it. Of course she was unsure now. After months of living as a new entity, she was beginning to question her old one. Unbeknown to her, she could be a brand new person right now. Like Ino said, there could very well be two people within her. Her past wasn't in control anymore. She was.

On the surface, she wasn't sure if she was just afraid of her past self, or didn't want to become that again. Friends always see the positive aspects of you. They wouldn't tell her all her bad personality traits, especially considering how emotionally vulnerable she had been for so long. After everything she had been through, she just wanted life to turn out OK for everyone.

Tsunade pulled her out of her thoughts. "Remembering is an active process. If we remembered everything we would be overwhelmed. The best of medics can control functions of the body down to a neural basis. Controlling the levels of certain proteins could prevent the retention of a day."

It not only gave her too much credit, but implied she forgot her day _on purpose. _Given how much the experience had rattled her, the theory was crazy.

"I wouldn't want to forget a day with Naruto," she argued.

"Consciously. You're the one going on about your subconscious."

"I don't think I like my past or subconscious self. Making me forget because I was _happy_. Showing me scary dreams..."

Her mentor looked a little disheartened and if Sakura wasn't partly annoyed at the claim, she could have sympathised with the woman. It wasn't nice to get excited and put forward an idea only to have it shot straight down.

Tsunade lowered her voice. "Maybe it's what you need to see."

"Whose side are you on? Mine or hers?" she shot back.

Tsunade look her in the eyes. "I'm on your side, Sakura."

She didn't like that look. Her mentor was staring directly at her, if not through her, her gaze was so intense. What if she was trying to communicate with her so-called inner-self! Tsunade could be in cahoots with the enemy here.

"I'm not convinced."

Tsunade blinked in confusion.

"You could be trying to talk to inner-me!"

It would make sense that all along Tsunade was trying to turn her back into old Sakura. Surely, all her friends would prefer that if they had a choice.

"You're the same person, Sakura."

Sakura took a step back and answered defensively, "Well maybe I don't want to be. I want no part of any past cruelty or current destructive plans."

"I think that's your problem, Sakura. You're not accepting yourself. The past made you who you are today. Don't forget that."

"I might do if inner-me has her way."

Tsunade sighed heavily. "You really need to talk to Naruto. You've gone crazy."

"But he also makes me..." she trailed off.

He made her crazy in a different way, and voicing that would make her sound like she was crazy in love with him. She didn't quite mean _that. _She meant crazy in the sense that he confused her so much that it could literally drive her crazy if she thought too hard on the matter.

Tsunade seemed to have coined onto this, because her smirk was annoyingly wide, making Sakura's cheeks heat up at the unspoken confirmation of feelings she may have for the boy. She didn't just want to take a step back anymore; she wanted to bury her head in the ground.

Trying to cover up her embarrassment, she blurted, "Believe crazy stories. I think he could make me paranoid with conspiracy theories too."

"He grounds you, Sakura. You're the one that can make him believe anything. You barely believe a word he says."

Not recently. She had been living and breathing off his words. His affirmations relaxed her. His seemingly crazy medical knowledge prevented further anxiety. Scientifically, she didn't believe it to be true but she at least believed in his good intentions. Wasn't that better than questioning his logic? Wasn't she better than her past self?

She missed him. It hadn't even been that long but a certain energy within her was gone. A part of her positivity was waning without him. She was even turning down (and not even giving a second thought to) medical theories about her condition. She was getting annoyed at the woman who was only trying to help. Who gave her a blank diary for 'emotional comfort'.

Sakura gripped the book tighter in her hand and made a plea. "Shishou, I know you're very busy, but... I would seriously appreciate your guidance on our amnesia theories. If we could quietly make some progress, I can make everyone proud."

"I'm proud already. He's proud. Why don't you just make something up? Tell Naruto the break has made you realise things and that you can now be together again."

Sakura frowned. "What are you insinuating?"

"That you can be friends again. What were you thinking?"

The woman was smirking again. Too much.

Sakura ignored the question. "I can't lie. I want actual progress, in a positive or negative direction."

Tsunade tapped the large pile of paperwork on her desk. "Then let's get started."

* * *

><p>The pair of them had hauled boxes and boxes of amnesia research, medical theories and textbooks into a plain office room in the Hokage Tower. They sat side by side on a desk and faced the workload ahead of them.<p>

Tsunade told her that today she could start by reading the notes on her personal condition, and then tomorrow they could think about which theory avenues to seriously consider. It would take patience, discussion and a lot of trial and error.

It was surreal as Sakura looked over the very first piece of medical documentation on her amnesia. It was the paper on the clipboard that she had conned off Kakashi after she had woken up from her coma.

That felt like a lifetime ago.

By now, she thought this would all be over. She couldn't have imagined that she would have to go through so many strange experiences. She didn't know of Sasuke and what he was capable of. She didn't even know what she was capable of. Every nugget of positive information about her felt overwhelmingly intangible. Every negative memory repulsed her. If just the last few months felt like a lifetime, then missing ten years of experiences was unimaginable.

Time went too fast. You couldn't afford to chase it.

"Sakura," Tsunade said loudly.

Her head shot up. She had been ignoring her mentor for a while, so lost in thought it was like she was the only one in the room.

"Sorry, have you been talking to me?"

Tsunade smirked at her. "No, I was talking to your imaginary inner-self."

Sakura frowned at the sarcasm. "You're the one who told me that."

"I didn't mean it as literal as you're taking it. You're obviously doing things unconsciously."

Everyone did things unconsciously. It was just more significant for her. Every little thing meant more than it should do in case it was some kind of key to solving everything. Nothing majorly hopeful had happened yet. No wonder Tsunade was at the point of making up positive theories and actually helping her after so long of putting distance between them.

"If you're going to be this slow, I'm going to die before we get halfway through this research," the blonde said teasingly.

Sakura smiled apologetically. "It's just strange..."

As she went to turn over the page, her eyes settled on the word that had given her so much anxiety after waking up. _Permanent? _It definitely looked that way. Too much time had passed, surely. Yet here she was, still trying. Yes, she had gone through doubtful stages and even feared success, but she couldn't see herself ever truly giving up. She didn't know if that made her naive, a dreamer, or down-right mad.

Then Tsunade... She had put so much effort into this research that surrounded them with so much promise. The Hokage always told her remembering was unlikely, near impossible, yet that didn't stop her from trying so, so hard to help.

Sakura couldn't ask for any more. How lucky was she?

Overwhelmed, she put the medical report down with a shaking hand.

"I'm very grateful for all of this." he sniffed, near to tears. "Sorry, I keep getting emotional on you."

Tsunade rolled her eyes in good humour. "You've always been an emotional wreck. Go back to Naruto. He's better with tears than me."

Sakura giggled and dabbed at her wet eyes. "That's why it's fun to cry around you."

"I'm not hugging you."

Hug or not, Tsunade wasn't as bad at comforting someone as she lead others to believe. Her pushing people away had the opposite effect on Sakura. She was definitely lifting off the ban when it came to distancing herself from Tsunade. She could play it off as something she had to do – the woman was the Hokage after all, so she can't be ignored.

For once, Tsunade was openly spending time and discussing things with her too. Sakura was not going to give that up. Ever. For someone she felt like she had not long met, she almost didn't feel that way. Like Naruto, Tsunade meant a lot to her – teasing jokes, fake annoyance and all.

"Naruto would hug you," the blonde continued.

Around her friends, and when she was on her own, she really was on a constant emotional roller coaster. Up and down all the time. She wondered if something in her brain damage was making that worse.

"Are mood swings a sign of any additional problems?" she asked nervously.

Tsunade studied her in silence, taking in her obvious anxiety. "Mood swings come with being a teenager. You know, hormones."

Her lips curved upwards in amusement. She would guess that answer was more for her comfort, rather than a medical evaluation.

"Being you, you're allowed the odd emotional outburst. You have never been good at controlling yourself anyway."

Sakura couldn't help but defend herself. "I'm not that bad and I'm sure I wasn't in the past."

Tsunade pointed to the front of the room. "You have also been through that wall more than once."

Sakura glanced at the solid wall behind her and then back at her teacher. "And you say I have control issues. You're not a teenager."

"I'm not far off."

Her thought trail paused. The Hokage didn't look old at all. Sakura didn't actually know how old her mentor was. She had heard things about the woman but age was never mentioned. Calling her 'grandma' had been an insult she had plucked out of nowhere in her rage. It obviously negatively affected the woman, so maybe she wasn't as old as her experience would suggest.

"How old are you?" Sakura asked genuinely, not meaning to sound rude.

Tsunade looked at her blankly. "Twenty-seven."

That was hard to believe. It would make her barely older than her and Tsunade was the leader of the village! Sakura did the math in her head of when she met the woman.

"So you were only twenty-two when you took me on as your apprentice? That's young."

Tsunade continued to appear deadpan. "Thirty-seven."

"Oh sorry, I thought you said twenty-seven. You look young for your age."

"You have no idea."

Sakura continued to look at the woman in thought. She was probably making Tsunade uncomfortable, because the Hokage was looking everywhere but at her.

"When's your birthday?"

Tsunade looked down and began to read through a book in front of her. "Tomorrow."

Tomorrow?! But she hadn't got a present, or a card. They even planned to go through more research for the majority of the day.

"You should have told me, shishou. We could celebrate tomorrow instead if you want?"

"I don't celebrate my birthdays. I don't like getting older."

Sakura smiled. "You've achieved a lot. I think that should be celebrated. I doubt I could ever do what you have by your age."

Tsunade tapped the paperwork in front of them. "Focus."

"Sorry," she muttered before looking at the work in front of her again.

The next page contained some kind of bell curve graph of expected memory loss time. It seemed to predict that it could take up to ten years (the amount of time lost) to recall her memories. She knew that already. It also pointed to her slowly gaining back a small amount of knowledge after she woke up. That also happened. It took a little while, but her name and connections that she could remember gradually came back to her on the day she woke up.

This pile was specifically documents on her and her time in the hospital it seemed. There was a collection of other graphs that had once been very confusing to her. However now, with all the research she had done, she could understand their meanings.

Sakura stole one more glance at her mentor (inwardly hoping she wasn't mad), to find she in fact seemed to be smiling ever-so-slightly. Glad, Sakura focused once more.

Flicking through the rest of the pile, she found it was all Tsunade's notes on her. It started with everything she had said about the people she met in her hospital room, and what these people really were to her. It hurt a little to see they were all friends or colleagues. She had just judged them off their appearances and gotten increasingly cranky and tired of the experiment.

There was a lot on her mother, notes on her feelings about Sasuke and then her relationship with Ino. All it said for Naruto was "feelings unchanged". There were pages and pages of reports from other people's observations.

"Did you mean to give this to me?" Sakura asked. "It's your notes."

Tsunade hummed her affirmation.

Sakura continued to read. "You spied on me so much... I had a right to get angry."

"Try and be objective. Look at it as if it's someone else."

Sakura nodded. She would try but it was so hard because she recalled everything written down before her. Doing the opposite of what was suggested, she reached for a pen and began to add extra notes to the pages. She listed how she felt about each incident and got a little too emotionally invested when it came to what happened with Sasuke and nearly losing, but saving, Naruto.

Sakura was surprised that 'healing while unconscious' was not the first hard-to-imagine theory that Tsunade had written down. Even though the sannin struggled to believe, and even openly disagreed with her theories, she hadn't missed a single one out. There were notes on dreams and even asterisks to look at other research.

There were pages of little mind games that had been played on her. Her behaviour when Naruto was there and when he was sent away was noted frequently. The relationship of danger and her ability to control chakra and remember the past was catalogued and then disproved.

On the other hand, healing in her sleep was proved. This progressed to controlling chakra when she was awake and seemed like an exciting development. Tsunade also noted how dangerous it could be and that it needed to be monitored closely. It looked like Tsunade had gathered research on different approaches of activating and controlling chakra, with a few scratchy theories on reverse learning and its effectiveness.

At this point in the notes, the hand writing got messier as if it was scribbled quickly to get all the information and theories down. This happened at several other places in the notes and Sakura tried to guess her mentor's thought process every time it changed.

In the beginning, any notes on her mother seemed to be written quite heavily and Sakura could guess that there was definitely some frustration there. However, later on, it detailed a discussion on how they could both help her, at home and at work, and the sorts of things to look out for. Tsunade had suggested several books for her mum to go home and read.

For the first time, Sakura had insight into all of the thoughts that Tsunade, family and her friends had hidden from her. She could see everything from their point of view. Tsunade obviously trusted her and respected her enough to read through it all.

It was the right time for her to see it. Tsunade had withheld it for so long and it was probably a good thing. This was something she needed to be ready to see and she needed to be sure that this was the path she wanted to go down. Otherwise, these notes on anterograde amnesia, the failed picture experiment and the notes on her decision to distance herself from everyone... It would have hurt to read.

It still did, a little bit.

The notes got slightly barer at this point too. There were some notes from Shizune, Sakura noticed because of the hand writing that she had seen on the board when they looked into toxicology, but Tsunade's theories seemed to lessen. They were written incredibly neatly, like they took a long time to write.

Tsunade must have glanced to see where she was up to. "I didn't see you much and you wanted some space. I tried to get less involved in the last couple of weeks. The last few sets of notes are a little behind."

Imagine if she never wanted to see Tsunade's notes after all the effort that had been put into them... She probably hurt Tsunade too when she said she didn't want to see her friends and when she showed less and less interest in remembering the past.

What was missing, unlike the notes on her relationship with everyone else she came into contact with, was comments on their relationship. That should be a big part of it, right? Or was it just not objective for Tsunade to write about herself much? When the sannin did refer to herself, it was in the third person and it was brief.

The last page of the notes was fairly blank. At the top, all it said was "Tsunade to get more involved?"

It was the neatest written thing in the entire report.

Sakura stared at the page for a moment before writing underneath:

"Yes please."

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

As always, I had a lot more I wanted to get into this chapter but I cut it here for word length purposes. I didn't expect to end it at this point. Yet again, I say that but each chapter always develops into something else entirely when I write it.

Science confirmed earlier this year that forgetting is an 'active process' and not a passive one. That we actively regulate what we remember and what we forget. Otherwise our brains would be overwhelmed with all the incoming information. I found you can actually get anterograde and retrograde amnesia at the same time too. Ouch.

Chapter 20 next! There will be more Tsunade bonding, family bonding and we'll see if we get on to Naruto making an appearance or not. Your guess is as good as mine. Ino and Tsunade are pushing his name into conversations and Sakura doesn't even need that push to think about him, so we might at least get her serious thoughts on her relationship with him soon.

Side note: I understand about not trying to include too much depressing angst. There will be ups and downs and I think last chapter may be the low point of the entire story. Sakura is beginning to look at her amnesia in a different light. She's being logical, if not sceptical, and she's almost seeing herself and her past self as two separate people. I think it would be hard not to. After a while, you would have some kind of identity and your own thoughts, even if you couldn't remember the past and what you used to be like. What do you think?

I spent about 6 hours finishing this chapter off tonight (and that was only writing about 2200 words, adding little bits to the rest of the chapter and getting it ready to upload - ouch) and I have some things to sort out for work tomorrow. This is much more fun (and more important?!).

Thank you to old and new readers, for your feedback, in both PMs and reviews (thank you also to all of the ones I can't respond to due to settings or being anonymous). It's always appreciated.

Thanks for your patience and for reading.


	20. Two Mothers and a Knickknack Collector

**Amnesia**

Chapter 20: Two Mothers and a Knickknack Collector

* * *

><p>As soon as Sakura was aware she had woken up from sleeping, she reached out to grab hold of her black diary that her mentor had given her the day before. Flicking though the pages, she was relieved to find that another day had passed and was safely stored in her memory.<p>

It was time to meet Tsunade again to dive into discussions about their ongoing problem. She was excited to be trying this, perhaps more so because she was finally spending quality time with the evasive Hokage. Currently, she was enjoying that more than finding out about amnesia. She wouldn't admit that out loud.

One thing was more important than her today though. It was Tsunade's birthday - her thirty-eighth. The fact that the woman was only twenty years older than her didn't quite feel believable. Not because of her looks, but because of her masses amounts of knowledge. She had the presence of someone much older.

Not knowing what Tsunade enjoyed outside of her job, Sakura had settled for a simple gift idea that could be given to anybody no matter their age or interests. She was playing it safe, but she did want to give the older medic a token of her appreciation for all she had done now (and likely in the past too).

* * *

><p>After a short knock on the door and a brief answer from Tsunade, Sakura burst into their usual meeting room, a lottery ticket in hand which she waved in enthusiastic greeting.<p>

"Happy Birthday!"

Tsunade raised her head to smile awkwardly at her before her eyes settled on the flapping ticket.

Responding to this, Sakura walked forward and placed the small, rectangular piece of paper on the table in front of her mentor on top of whatever she had been reading at the time.

"It's not much, but it could be," she said with a smile.

It was for today's draw. There wasn't much chance of winning the jackpot but it was possible to win a smaller amount.

Her mentor picked up the lottery ticket and stared at it in silence, making no comment.

Oh dear... Had she offended her in some way? Sakura had heard the woman was a gambler (a bad one at that), so what was wrong with getting her a lottery ticket? The chances of winning anything were so slim... It was just a bit of a joke.

However, it didn't make Tsunade laugh. The Hokage placed the ticket back down and still said nothing.

Sakura grimaced. "What's wrong?"

"You usually get me a lottery ticket."

Oh. She didn't know what to say to that. This wasn't meant to be serious. It was only meant to be a token of appreciation, not have a deeper meaning. Why did she always get Tsunade a lottery ticket? Could she not think of something more personal and meaningful each year?

"You say that the day I win the jackpot is the day I should retire." Tsunade smiled to herself. "Because it will be a terrible year and that I shouldn't bring such poor luck down on Konoha. It's a bit of a recurring inside joke between us."

Sakura smiled back. "Do you ever win anything?"

Tsunade snorted at the question. "No."

Maybe deep down, she really did know her mentor quite well!

"But, Sakura, I just thought I'd tell you that... it's not actually my birthday."

Or not.

Sakura crossed her arms. "Then why did you tell me it was?"

"I'm just giving you little mind tests."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "You were hoping I'd buy you alcohol."

Tsunade laughed lightly. "Yes."

She wasn't impressed. This might be something she would need to get used to if she were to continue with these meetings.

"You do usually get me a bottle of sake as a way of saying thank you," the Hokage continued.

"Really?" Sakura replied sceptically.

"It's my favourite pastime," Tsunade persisted.

"Second to spending time with me?"

Tsunade looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before saying, "Nope, it's still my favourite."

Sakura pouted and ignored the amused Hokage as she took a seat by the lying woman's side.

* * *

><p>Amnesia really was a wormhole. There were so many unconfirmed theories that had no factual proof behind them. Some seemed dangerous. Sakura was beginning to question how far she was willing to go when it came to medical experiments.<p>

Sakura pointed at an image of a large machine and asked, "Will this do any potential further damage?"

Tsunade glanced at it and then looked back at what she was reading. "No, it should not."

Should not?!

"It just scans the brain's activity."

She wasn't very willing to be studied by machines – she much preferred a medic and chakra healing from someone she trusted. Large metal containers and cold metal instruments determining her mental state frightened her. It would be nice to have hard facts and evidence about her brain activity, but the results of them were so final.

It was almost comforting to have open-ended theories. There was no definitive conclusion until she tried them all. Would some potentially harm her though? More often than not, complicated therapies and operations had higher rates of success if done correctly.

"Are there plans that could do damage but help?"

Tsunade looked up to study her face. "Would you be prepared to try them?"

Sakura hesitated at first, and her voice wavered as she answered, "Yes."

She cleared her throat and looked back down at the papers. She was prepared, but not right now.

"There are not any we would try anyway."

Sakura tried to move back to thinking about the task at hand, but all she could think was:

_Would past Sakura be brave enough to try?_

* * *

><p>Sakura sat at the dinner table with her parents. She didn't have much appetite and so slowly ate her meal.<p>

The second meeting with her mentor had been less productive than the first. Sakura hadn't spoken to Tsunade much after their initial banter. She realised that they would soon run out of things to read. The next stage would be discussing what they should try.

Therefore, Sakura had slowed down her actions.

After reading each theory, she would sit back as if she was thinking about it, but in reality she was nervous about experimenting. What part of the experiments frightened her? She wasn't too sure. Being a test subject wasn't a nice thought and both the potential outcome of success _and_ failure still made her stomach churn.

After she first questioned how her past self would deal with her situation, Sakura couldn't stop comparing herself now and back then. She wished she found comfort from her past but she didn't even feel like she was having normal dreams. There was nothing in her slumber that she could interpret as part of her inner-thoughts and desires apart from _remember, remember, remember_.

Other people could tell her about who she was. She would almost have to agree after she had missed out on ten years of her life, in which she would have had dreams and life goals and experiences that changed her. Many of them would have been with Naruto.

Naruto would have been able to comfort her right now, she knew that. He would protect her from scary machines and even scarier results. He wouldn't let something hurt her so easily. He probably wouldn't even understand the results.

She smiled to herself, almost laughing as she imagined his cluelessness with anything medical. She often found that she would then comfort herself in an attempt to also comfort him. There was something about lying to yourself that almost made things OK. Only Naruto made things a lot better than OK. He made things enjoyable and funny.

He was probably out there now causing all sorts of clueless trouble.

Or he was depressed because of her...

"You're thinking about Naruto, aren't you?"

Her mother's question surprised her. Sakura looked at Mebuki with wide eyes. How did she know that?

"Oh, honey, I just know when you get that look on your face."

"What look?" Sakura pressed.

"The thoughtful look, sad eyes but a smile on your lips before that falls too."

Sakura sighed and didn't deny it because it was a hundred percent true.

"I do miss him," she admitted.

"Maybe we should invite this boy over for dinner," her dad suggested.

"No... I can't do that. I sort of told him that we needed to take a break."

"You were dating?" Mebuki asked, her eyes widening.

Kizashi also looked surprised and uncomfortable. He sat up straighter and eyed her thoughtfully.

"No, well, not really, I'm not sure."

"Be clearer, Sakura, do I, or do I not need to beat this young man up?" her dad asked.

Her dad was very protective. She shouldn't have been surprised by this. He always liked to think he was their shield but Sakura knew her mother was much tougher than him. If there was a bug in the house, Mebuki would be the one to move it. She was fairly sure she could even recall an instant with a particularly large spider and her dad hiding behind _her, _as she also hid, while his wife dealt with the situation. She probably got her hatred of bugs from her father's side.

Still, she wouldn't risk it when it came to Naruto's safety. She wanted her family to like him, especially after a not-too-kind past between most people and child Naruto and unacceptable behaviour that her mother had admitted she took part in.

"Not at all. Please don't do that."

Mebuki smiled at her. "Your father's just a tease, you know he's a big softie, he'd be marrying you off to any boy that bought him a gift."

Her dad was also appreciative. He was always appreciating the thought of an action, even if it was lame. If you went out of your way to give him junk, Kizashi would make an effort to somehow put that junk to good use. He was a DIY man who was terrible at DIY. Yet somehow, his inventions did work. The thought of him allowing any boy to date her because said boy gave him a cheap gift at the door, to make him feel special, irritated her slightly.

Meanwhile, Kizashi looked offended at the thought. "No, I wouldn't sell my girl for anything!"

"Two gifts?" Mebuki asked.

"Well, maybe."

"Dad!" Sakura shot back.

Her parents laughed and after a moment she did too. She could picture it happening. Her dad was a sucker for cheap junk. He likely had a larger collection of knickknacks than pictures of her – and he wouldn't forget them either. He would know exactly when and where they were from, unlike him forgetting what they did on special birthdays or family days out.

The laughter calmed down and Sakura's thoughts grew more serious. As far as she was aware, she had no dating experiences that her amnesia had taken away from her. She was serious about her job, not boys.

"At least I didn't have a wedding and family of my own to forget," she said quietly.

Mebuki hummed dismissively and attempted to revert back to the topic of Naruto. "Why did you abandon the boy?"

Sakura winced. "Don't put it like that. It sounds so cruel."

"Why did you drop your teammate?"

That wasn't much better. She grimaced again.

"Because I was too happy. For a while I didn't care if I had my memories, or my abilities, I had him and he liked me either way. But when I saw pictures of my friends and felt nothing... When everybody else around me was so attached to these images of our past and I felt left out, I just needed to leave. I wanted to feel normal again, at home. I wanted to recover my desire to learn everything for a second time."

And since then she had got nowhere alone, yet she couldn't just go back to Naruto and change her mind – although she had started up her attempts to remember again... with a shaky start that Naruto would definitely be able to help her re-think. Was that enough to start meeting up with him again? Or was that too selfish of a reason?

"Can't you do that with a boyfriend?" Mebuki asked.

"Mum!"

Her mother laughed. "You see, you're more grown up now than you feel you are. When you were younger, for anything scary or new, you always wanted us to be with you."

"I came home didn't I?" Sakura bit back bitterly.

"You want us to help you with your memories?"

"No, I want to do it on my own, but frankly, I could use all the help I can get."

Mebuki looked thoughtful for a moment. "Then what about your team?"

Facing her team would be tough too. Facing anybody after telling them all to back off would be an awkward encounter.

"I need to accomplish something first. I can't go back to them the same as when I left, the pain won't be worth it otherwise. Other than missing my friends... my emotional attachment is nearly non-existent. What I know about scares me, what I don't know about scares me, but the possibility of never knowing, and the possibility of knowing, scares me too."

"Always the over-thinker," her dad joked.

Latching on to the chance to change the tone of the conversation, Sakura tried her best to smile genuinely. "You know what I'm thinking? What's for desert?"

Talking about her team, and Naruto especially, gave her heartache. There were only so many love and amnesia talks that she could take in a short period of time. People just wouldn't drop the subject of her and Naruto, even those who didn't know much about their relationship, and she knew she would never drop that subject either.

She didn't think she could last much longer without him and that meant that she needed to start making progress with Tsunade.

* * *

><p>Sakura was surprised the next day when she reached their meeting room and her mentor was not already waiting for her. Thinking about it, there had not been a time over the past two days when she couldn't find the Hokage hunched over the large desk with an even larger pile of paperwork to work through. She had even left nearly an hour early yesterday morning and the woman was still there before she was.<p>

As Sakura was unsure if she should make a start on their research alone or not, she closed the door again and walked back down the corridor to search for her mentor instead. She didn't want to read and discuss today. She wanted to make a start on something more substantial. Hopefully, Tsunade wasn't busy with something else – she was the Hokage after all, Sakura was lucky for all the time that her mentor had dedicated to her.

Voices could be heard from the Hokage's office and Sakura was glad that Tsunade was so easy to find - if Tsunade wasn't in her office, their meeting room or the hospital then she would be stumped. She would probably then start looking in bars.

Sakura knocked the door and the voices stopped.

"Come in!"

Sakura opened the door and stopped in her tracks as she realised who was talking to the Hokage.

It was the two people she had come across walking through the streets - the Sand ninjas who she had awkward eye contact with before completely ignoring, which was happening again now. They blankly watched her and she stared back at them.

Tsunade spoke up, "Sakura, this is Temari and Kankurō, our allies from the Sand village."

"Hi," she greeted them with an awkward smile.

They nodded back.

Then it hit her. Naruto had told her about these two! Kankurō was the ninja she healed. He was Gaara's brother, the Kazekage of the Sand, and Temari's sister too. They were good friends and she had completely blanked them like an idiot.

Briefly smacking her head with shame, she stepped towards Temari and held out her hand for them to shake. "I'm so sorry, Naruto told me about you. I know you, but I didn't recognise you, I'm sorry."

Temari ignored the handshake and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry for ignoring you too, Sakura. We didn't want to intrude; you looked a little... engrossed in thought."

She had been near to a breakdown when she walked passed them. She felt bad for it, but if they had stopped and talked to her she could have ended up crying on them so at least that didn't happen.

"Don't worry about it," she told them genuinely.

Temari pulled back and Kankurō was soon to hug her as well.

"What have you gone and hit your head for, eh, Sakura?" he said as he held her tightly.

She tensed. "Uhh..."

"You'll fix it. You're the best medic in the world."

He pulled away and smiled at her and she awkwardly scratched the back of her head. "I currently can't control chakra at all."

"What?" Kankurō answered in confusion.

Temari smacked her brother around the back of the head. "Kankurō!"

He moved out the way and looked at her more seriously. His teasing demeanour slowly fizzled into one much more serious. "Sorry..."

"It's OK," she said with a small smile.

She would probably normally respond to him much differently to how she was now. She saved his life – if that didn't create a bond between two people then what did? He was viewing her as a completely different person and she was effectively meeting him for the first time.

Trying to change the subject and get some conversation going, she gestured to the wrappings he carried on his back. "What's that?"

"This?" Kankurō lifted off the large object off his back and placed it on the floor. Proudly presenting it, he grinned. "-Is my puppet!"

An involuntary shiver passed through her and she took a step back. "I do _not_ want to know."

Kankurō took his hand off the wrappings and she was glad when he didn't take the puppet out of its bindings.

"They creep me out," she added, not wanting to offend his obvious pride and glory.

"Still?" He pouted at her.

_Still?_ What did that mean? It was a recent, unpleasant discovery but likely coming across them at any point would cause her to dislike them. She couldn't voice how strong her hatred for them was - there was even some fear...

"Why, Sakura?" Tsunade asked her.

"I had this nightmare. It was horrible. There were all these puppets and I couldn't save this old lady. It was just-" She shivered again.

"That's real, Sakura!" Kankurō told her with enthusiasm.

"_Kankurō_," Temari warned.

"You fought Sasori with Lady Chiyo and you won and then she passed away saving my brother, Gaara."

Sakura stared at him before lowering her head.

It had been a terrible dream. It was realistic, but that didn't make it real. She couldn't recall it all properly now, but the feeling of sadness was still present. She didn't know 'Sasori', nor did she want to. She didn't even want to know 'Lady Chiyo'; she didn't want to know if she was close to her, because she was dead. She may have saved Kankurō, they may have defeated Sasori, but she didn't manage to save the old woman who was obviously somebody good.

"I never liked Chiyo," Tsunade chipped in, "she had been my rival and we never got on. But you greatly respected her, Sakura. I didn't think it was possible to change her, but it seemed like you did. I thought of her a little differently after your stories too."

Was it worth remembering that bond and respect, only to remember the sadness of her funeral right afterwards?

"Unlike your dream, she was not yours to save. She died of choice and in the most honourable way. She gave her life to resurrect Gaara."

_Resurrect?! _Sakura's head shot up in shock. Not possible, surely? That was definitely not in her dream. Could it all be a coincidence?

"I didn't see Sasori... I can barely picture Lady Chiyo's face... The puppets were just endless monsters..."

"Puppets are cool, Sakura. One day, I will show you that," Kankurō said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Sakura smiled back at him. "I don't think so."

"Drop it, Kankurō, you've tried this before." Temari hissed before flipping her personality and smiling at her. "We should hang out, Sakura, you, me and Ino. No puppets, no idiotic younger brothers."

"That sounds good, Temari, but I'm... awkwardly avoiding most people at the moment."

Temari sighed. "We already knew that. We've been getting updates."

Sakura raised any eyebrow.

Kankurō nodded in affirmation. "We want to know about our favourite Konoha medic. Even Gaara was worried."

"Gaara doesn't worry," Temari disagreed.

"He does when it comes to Naruto and Sakura," he countered.

Sakura swallowed.

"She's ignoring him too," Tsunade pointed out.

"Aw, no, Sakura," Temari commented before questioning, "Ino?"

"We're speaking," Sakura replied.

"So I guess you'll soon be talking to Naruto again." Temari laughed.

Was that because Ino would work on getting them back together? That was true but why would Temari know that? Did everybody, all over the world, want her and Naruto be a couple? What was with these people? _Why?_ She did not know how to feel about it. It was weird.

"I was kind of hoping she would get with Gaara, just so she could officially be our younger sister and move to the Sand," Kankurō added.

Temari grinned at the thought. "True, but come on, her and Naruto?"

If there was a less subtle way of getting out of this than walking straight out the room, she would have done it by now. She looked at Tsunade for help, only to be greeted with amusement.

Thank God Ino wasn't here – or Naruto. She would die of embarrassment. Yet she had a feeling that Naruto would defend her from their teasing.

She _missed_ him.

Tsunade finally gave her some mercy, however what she said next made Sakura's heart fall.

"We won't be researching today, Sakura."

But she needed to make progress right now. She needed to achieve something and then run to Naruto and apologise profusely.

"I have some Hokage things that I need to do," Tsunade added after seeing her disappointment. "Go home."

Sakura pouted. "I'm going to be bored today."

"When I send Naruto away, you complain you're bored out of your mind, but when you do, it's still my fault? You could go see him you know."

That sounded like the old her - the person Ino had originally described her as. She didn't ever want it to be true of her current self.

"I can't quite yet," she mumbled.

"We can hang out today, Sakura," Kankurō said.

Oh dear. Hang out with the puppeteer who seemed very attached to her?

"We're meeting Shikamaru today," Temari pointed out to her brother.

"We don't have to meet your boyfriend today."

"We promised and he's not my boyfriend," Temari growled back with an accompanied death glare.

At least she wasn't the only one who got teased about romance.

"Just go home, Sakura. We'll meet again tomorrow morning," Tsunade said.

Sakura sighed. "OK..."

As she turned to leave, she spotted the lottery ticket on the desk and nodded at it. "Any luck?"

"I won some money."

Sakura grinned. "Way to go!"

Tsunade didn't look too pleased.

Sakura's smile turned into a look of confusion. "Were you not happy with the amount you won?"

Tsunade shook her head. "I tend to associate me winning anything, or being lucky, with bad things."

That was a bit of a downer on any time something nice happened by chance. Did something bad always happen? Just how bad were the outcomes?

"When was the last time you won something?" she asked.

"A few months ago, before you left on a mission, I bet you that I would win some stupid bet at the pub."

Sakura's eyes widened. Did she mean...?

"You came back to me in a coma."

Tsunade looked crestfallen. It certainly wasn't her mentor's fault that she knocked her head, fell into a coma and developed amnesia. It would be crazy to associate the two things.

"Don't worry about it, shishou. I bought the ticket for you. I'm sure it doesn't mean anything bad will happen."

Tsunade smiled sadly.

"Maybe my luck is a little better than yours and you winning actually prophesies good things to come."

Tsunade stared at the door, her gaze becoming ever so more serious. "Your luck is pretty poor too."

"Amnesiacs have to develop good luck. I think that's only fair," she replied optimistically.

After nodding awkwardly to both of the Sand siblings, she turned to leave.

"See you around, Sakura!" Kankurō called after.

"We can meet up soon!" Temari added.

Apparently, she had been good friends with those two... They seemed nice, very friendly, yet a little intrusive.

* * *

><p>Following her mentor's wishes, Sakura went back home. She sat at the kitchen table and propped her elbow up on the surface to lean her chin in her hand. She was already bored.<p>

"Ah, Sakura, you're back," her mum commented as she walked into the room. "What's wrong? Naruto?"

"Tsunade's busy," she huffed, "so no research today."

Mebuki pulled up a chair and sat next to her daughter. "It's happening again."

Sakura looked at her mother blankly.

"Twice in a row you've left in the morning before I was even up. As soon as you train with Tsunade, that's all you want to do."

Sakura felt sorry for her mother. She didn't want to pull away from her for a second time – but she would have to. There was only so much leaning on other people that she was prepared to do. She knew her parents wouldn't mind, that they would even enjoy it after not seeing her like this for years, but she wanted to grow up as normally as possible.

Tsunade wasn't just a teacher to her, but like a second mother who watched out for her like family. Sakura felt incredibly close to the Hokage and loved her like a mother. Mebuki and Tsunade were different, yet Sakura felt like she needed them both. They were both important to her. It was just that Tsunade was the sort of person Sakura wanted to be – she held the knowledge and skills and answers that Sakura wished she knew. She needed to be more independent to achieve those things.

"Is it tough to see me grow up?"

Mebuki smiled and shook her head. "You're already grown up, Sakura. You've not changed."

"At all?" Sakura frowned.

Surely she couldn't be exactly the same as before she hit her head.

"I don't see you any differently. Maybe you were a bit confused, and rightly so, but you're still Sakura."

"Not even a little bit?"

Mebuki shook her head.

She was sort of hoping that people would tell her she was better now.

Her dad entered the kitchen and headed to the sink to place a glass in the washing-up bowl. Sakura jumped at the opportunity to ask his opinion.

"When I grew up, did I change at all, dad?"

"Let's see... You got taller, and louder."

"Louder?"

Kizashi nodded. "You can be as scary as your mother sometimes."

When Mebuki glared at him, he rushed out of the kitchen and made himself scarce. Her mother then stated, "Ignore him. You know how much of an idiot your father can be."

Sakura looked at her blankly. She hadn't been living here long, but plenty of times she had seen her parents bantering and witnessed her mother take a swing at her dad. They had only gotten worse over the years.

"You're not having marriage problems are you?"

Mebuki laughed. "No, sweetie, he just tells really bad jokes sometimes."

Sakura wasn't convinced.

Mebuki noticed. "Perhaps we didn't allow you to see it when you were much younger, but just because I hit him, doesn't mean I don't love him. Even you punch him on the arm sometimes."

Her dad did irritate her, but she loved him and couldn't see herself going beyond exasperation and taking a swing at him. It was too often that she felt like knocking some sense into people, Naruto was the prime example, but she had managed to reign herself in so far. She hoped that even if people wouldn't say she was different now than before her amnesia, she could at least aim to be less violent, less selfish and work on her faults.

"I can't imagine myself doing that."

It was Mebuki's turn to look unconvinced, but Sakura insisted, "I'm not a violent person."

Her mother laughed. "Not even towards Naruto?"

Sakura frowned. "No."

After her mother had come down from her laughing high, her face turned more serious. "You used to talk about him as I did your father."

Sakura stared back, not knowing what to say.

"I actually assumed you were dating, more than once. I do think you have a special bond."

"...Like you and dad?"

Mebuki nodded. "Don't leave him alone too long, Sakura. I can see you're very important to him."

And Naruto was very important to her. He really did mean a lot to her. She could not deny that they had a special bond. She didn't want to live without him. She didn't want to go long without knowing he was OK. She had thought about him more than herself since she had woken up in hospital.

If he hadn't been there for her, she might not even be who she was right now. She wouldn't be as happy. She wouldn't feel as safe. She wouldn't feel as loved.

"What can I say to him?"

Mebuki smiled. "Only you can answer that."

Sakura stood up and pushed her chair backwards. "Thanks, mum. I'll be back soon."

* * *

><p>Sakura returned to the Hokage's office to see her mentor. Tsunade had been surprised to see her turn up after being told to go home. Sakura noted that the woman looked a little tired, so hoped her request wouldn't be too much to ask.<p>

"Will it take long to do a physical test? Anything will do. I just want to get some kind of concrete result about where I stand."

Tsunade's eyes widened slightly. "I was under the impression that you didn't want to jump into tests."

Sakura wasn't surprised that Tsunade had realised that. She had acted awkward yesterday and even displayed fear when it came to certain theories and tests.

"I'm ready now," she said with confidence.

It just needed to be something small.

"I've wanted Ino's dad to look at you. I wanted to test your brain, monitor its activity, and even monitor your dreams and REM sleep since you seem to think they are so important."

Sakura nodded slowly.

"We can start with a brain scan. Then we'll see if your brain has healed."

"Today?" Sakura said hopefully.

"What's motivated you?"

"I want to go and speak to Naruto soon. I need to convince myself I've got somewhere without him."

Tsunade studied her silence.

_Please,_ Sakura inwardly prayed. She knew her mentor was busy, but she wanted to go and see Naruto today. She wanted to see that he was OK and that she didn't hurt him badly and that she still had a chance to make it up to him. She was almost desperate.

"OK, Sakura. We'll do the scan now."

* * *

><p>"How long will it take?" Sakura asked nervously as Tsunade strapped her head and limbs down to a white, plastic medical bed.<p>

"Up to two hours. I want to be thorough."

She would have nodded if she was able to but instead she lay there silently.

"You've had this done before, for fun in the past," Tsunade informed her.

"You're kidding?"

Tsunade pushed the thin bed backwards, and Sakura found herself inside a small circular tube. There was breathing room, but she was glad she wasn't claustrophobic.

"The brain is always interesting for a medic to study. Now, don't move."

She couldn't move if she wanted to. She wasn't going to enjoy this, but it had to be done.

When the machine turned on, there was a deep whirring noise before it transformed into a continuous low humming sound.

"Could this not be done with chakra?" she asked.

"Not if we want a picture. We need this scanner for comparison to the past and future," Tsunade's voice sounded as if it was in the tube with her and Sakura looked as far upwards with her eyes as possible to spot a small speaker. "I can hear you, but the less you speak the quicker this will be."

At least she wouldn't be alone during this. It would be more comforting to have Naruto here too.

Now she had two hours of thinking to do.

Two hours to convince herself of what she was doing, or two hours to change her mind.

* * *

><p>The time went by slowly. She closed her eyes to take her mind off the small space she was trapped in.<p>

At least after this she could give Naruto news on how she was getting on. She would be more interested in how he was though. She couldn't wait to see his face and hear his voice. Her parents would want to know the results too - and Ino, probably.

Tsunade's thoughts would be key. Why was it that Tsunade suddenly showed more ongoing interest in her? Obviously, she had always been keeping an eye on her and making notes, but she originally refused to train her and avoided as much contact between them as possible. That couldn't all be because she was waiting for her to be ready to talk about these things.

"Why did you suddenly decide to help me, shishou?"

"Don't speak. Ten minutes left."

Did that mean Tsunade couldn't speak either? The woman was too good at avoiding personal conversations. They were opposites in that respect. They got on well. It would be nice to be a bit more open with each other.

* * *

><p>Sakura opened her eyes when Tsunade pulled her out of the scanning container and then proceeded to undo the bindings. She lay there for a moment, still feeling paralysed despite being free to move.<p>

Slowly, she sat up and stretched.

Tsunade walked across with a large image. When Sakura first saw it, she noted lots of little images of her brain at different angles.

The Hokage pointed to the front of the brain and ran her finger along its outskirts. "The swelling has gone and all of the damaged tissue has healed. Both the hippocampus and temporal lobe appear to be healthy."

"That's...good," Sakura noted.

"It is. It's the best possible outcome."

That was something. Yet did that mean she should have remembered by now if her brain had healed itself?

"And what does it say about my amnesia?"

"Sometimes, amnesiacs appear to have completely healthy brains, even on the initial scan. Hopefully this means that things won't get worse."

_Hopefully._ It was not certain but it was better than not having any clue at all if further problems would develop. This meant that if anterograde amnesia was unlikely, she could feel less selfish by going back to Naruto and being a part of his life again. Since it was only _hopefully_ however, she felt like she would need to talk to him about the possibility of her getting mentally worse. It would only be fair for them to both be prepared.

Tsunade sat down next to her on the medical bed. "I'm happy with that."

"Me too, shishou. Thank you."

After a brief moment of silence, Tsunade reached over to take the images of her brain back. The Hokage stared at the paper.

"To answer your question, when I stopped avoiding you, I was finally prepared to accept that you may never get your memories back."

Sakura's eyes widened and she looked at her mentor but Tsunade still wouldn't look at her.

"I'm still prepared to try. I can't blame myself for this – nobody understands it yet. I just want you to be happy and I will always make time for you. I will teach you any time."

Sakura stood up and turned to face her mentor head-on before leaning forward and pulling the older medic into a hug.

"Thank you," she mumbled. "You're like a second mother to me."

Despite not being a hugger, Tsunade hugged her back firmly.

"Please pick a time when I have lots of paperwork. I can shove it onto Shizune then. You know she has a soft spot for you too."

Sakura laughed and pulled back. "If you are busy, I can just get Shizune-san to teach me instead. I wouldn't want to distract you from such important work, would I?"

Tsunade stood up from the medical bed and walked over to a desk where she must have sat for the scan. She began sorting through a file. "Like today?"

Sakura winced. "Sorry, I wanted to get this out the way. I'll go see Naruto now."

She didn't rush off. She took a deep breath.

It was time to face Naruto.

Right now.

She would just apologise. Surely he would take her back. If he didn't, she wouldn't know what to do. She wouldn't blame him but it would hurt.

She cared too much to lose him.

"You don't want to remember."

Sakura blanched, caught off by her mentor's words.

"Of course I do," she denied.

Tsunade looked disbelieving.

Sakura sighed. "It's just that I'm frightened. I want nothing more than to remember who I am, what I can do, what I have done... But I'm scared I won't like it, that I won't like who I am, what I have done, how I feel."

Tsunade nodded. "You fear that you were a bad person, or that you did bad things."

If she were suddenly to remember hurting her friends... if she suddenly remembered all the times she hurt Naruto... she would die a little inside. Recalling all her mistakes and all the sad times would be heartbreaking.

"...Did I do bad things?"

"Anybody who worries about being a bad person is not a bad person."

But even good people do bad things. She knew for a fact that she made mistakes. She didn't like her childhood behaviour and from what she had heard, she had experienced some intense events in her lifetime.

"But how did I treat Naruto?"

"You tease him, you put him in line when he is inappropriate, but we all know he can't dislike it that much, because otherwise he would not still treat you like he does."

"But is it possible that my feelings will change?"

She was worried about that. She was worried that she would remember and all of a sudden Naruto would be something different than what he was. She never wanted to see him differently to how she saw him now. He couldn't get better.

Tsunade regarded her with amusement. "Your feelings won't change, you just won't be able to hide or ignore them."

The sureness in the Hokage's tone made her feel awkward. "You sound certain."

"If you do remember, you will die of embarrassment."

Surely that was better though if nothing changed? Now uncomfortable, she tried to get off the subject. She looked away, straight ahead of her and cleared her throat. "Well that's better than learning you're a terrible person."

"Learning you're in love?" Tsunade clarified.

"The emotions that come with that are difficult enough without having amnesia," Sakura grumbled, eyeing the exit to the lab room.

"I know why you are ignoring him, Sakura. He has completely changed this entire experience for you. But you need to accept what is real and move on."

He had. She did.

"So I can die of embarrassment when I remember?" she asked, allowing her eyes to drift back to the Hokage.

"So you can be happy if you don't."

If he did accept her again she would be happy. She was so invested in his answer and what he would say that she was getting too nervous to go and see him.

"Will he take me back?" she asked worriedly.

"He's dying waiting."

She slumped. "I'm a terrible person."

"You're a good person, Sakura. But the guilt you harbour for the smallest of things is just daft."

"This wasn't small."

"But you had good intentions. That's why you still have so many good friends. The person you were has resulted in the support you have now."

She had never thought of it like that. She had always thought that her friends were so good that they would help her even if she wasn't the kindest of souls. But you had to care for someone to put as much effort as they were doing into helping her. At some point, she might have been a bad person, but she must have come out the other side with a minimum of the best intentions.

She didn't believe she deserved someone like Naruto - he was just too good for anyone. However, she had given him enough in her life to capture his attention, and she did not want to pass up the opportunity to be his friend. To be something with him.

What she would do next would be for her, and if her past self didn't like it, she didn't care one bit.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

We hit 50,000 views on Amnesia! *High five*. And we're at chapter 20. Thanks everyone for your continued support. I had a day off work yesterday so I spent about half of it writing this and then spent the same amount of time today finishing it off.

Lots of little things happened in this chapter. I like writing the bond between the Kankurō and Temari and Sakura. I think that after Sakura saved Kankurō and helped saved Gaara, there would definitely be a connection between her and the Sand Siblings. I always enjoy writing relationships like that.

I was also thinking of changing the summary. I thought of it before I started uploading and was only on about chapter 4. Back then I had a very different idea about where I wanted this to go. It was back in the days when I wrote without the intention of uploading anything to this website.

Naruto will finally be back in the next chapter. And there will be NaruSaku.

Thanks for reading and for all your kind feedback.


	21. Hearts Uninhibited

**Amnesia**

Chapter 21: Hearts Uninhibited

* * *

><p>Sakura had changed her mind.<p>

This was not for her. It was for Naruto. She didn't want him to wait a second longer without an apology and reassurance. That didn't mean that she wouldn't tell the truth. She was going to pour her heart out. Tell him everything.

Regarding his answer, well, it was time for her to be selfless. All she wanted was for him to be happy and she would slot into any role that helped him reach that goal. Any nervousness she felt about what he was going to say was squashed down mentally, although she couldn't quite catch her breath.

Her shallow breathing was nothing to do with the fact that she had hightailed it straight out of the hospital and into the streets of Konoha. She had found herself to be a very athletic person. She was not one for displaying and communicating emotion, though.

There was a brief moment where she was amused at her predicament. This problem was nothing to do with her amnesia, really. It was a stupid, girl problem and it terrified her. She stopped in the middle of the empty street and took a few deep breaths to calm herself.

It did not work.

Instead, she tried to turn her nervousness into excitement. _Finally _she would get to see Naruto after what felt like a confusing, somewhat awkward lifetime.

Closing her eyes, she pictured him standing before her, his smiling face.

"Naruto," she breathed to the silent path ahead.

"Sakura-chan."

Her smile was instantaneous.

Sakura opened her eyes to see him standing in front of her, just a few feet away. His smile was small, but when hers steadily grew, his did too. It never got as wide as hers – Naruto seemed slightly wary of her intentions – but she was so glad to see it in person.

"I have missed you," she told him.

"I've missed you too."

"I needed that wake up call. I told you I would find you again."

He nodded uncertainly. He still couldn't read what she was going to say. She didn't blame him for that. She had been flaky ever since she first woke up in that hospital bed. She had pulled and pushed him in every emotional direction she experienced on a daily basis. Now, she just wanted to be simple with him. She wanted both of them to know where they stood when it came to their relationship and her amnesia.

"I am never going to leave you again. You are so important to me."

His eyes widened.

Sakura didn't understand why he was surprised. Was he expecting her to say the time apart had been great and she realised how little she needed him? That would be insane. She had come to terms with just how much he meant to her.

She took one step forward and looked him dead in the eyes.

"I love you."

Naruto didn't move a muscle. He didn't speak. He froze on the spot, his eyes still wide in shock. She watched him for the tiniest of reactions but he gave away nothing.

She didn't want to backtrack. She meant what she said and had never been so serious. She had got her words right for once.

Her shallow breathing picked up again as she tried to find the words that would prove her feelings. Her mind became more of the frazzled mess she was used to when it came to this boy and romance.

"Naruto – I – these past few weeks have been so long, and I have missed you every minute. When I was happy, when I was sad, I couldn't get passed your image in my head. I was worried I had hurt you. I was mad at myself. The moment I said goodbye I regretted it. I've tried so hard to get myself together, but I am so sure of my feelings now. I don't want to waste any more time, with anything, but especially not you.

"My heart would go crazy every time I saw spiky blond hair." She laughed at herself. "It's racing right now, just the thought of you... I promise you, Naruto, I love you."

He opened his mouth, closed it again, and then it opened one more time and hung there.

She walked closer to him, to the point where she had to tilt her head to look him in the eyes. She was revving herself up for rejection, almost wincing in anticipation. More importantly, she just wanted _any_ kind of answer. She had a feeling it would change her life. She loved him. The more she said it, the more relieved she felt that she finally understood her feelings.

If he did not feel the same way, she needed to know what he wanted from her. Being friends would be...great... They have always been friends and they always had so much fun. In her mind, they were best friends. Anything less would be sad, but she wanted to respect his wishes. He deserved to have the final stay on their status.

If he never wanted to see her again, she wouldn't blame him, she would understand. She would say OK. She wouldn't be OK, but that would be her problem. She couldn't imagine him denying her though. No matter what, he would not hurt her. Therefore, above everything, she wanted his answer to be the truth.

She couldn't imagine feeling the same way about anybody else. Ever. But she was not going to force anything between them.

"Naruto, I have babbled my heart and soul out to you, so please say _something_."

"Something," he muttered and his face softened as he looked down at her.

For a moment, the strongest urge to hit him washed over her. Her fists balled at her sides, and her face easily hinted at her irritation as she gave him a look that said she did _not_ appreciate his comment.

It was then that he gave her an ear-splitting grin; he laughed and pulled her into the tightest bear hug imaginable.

"I have always and will always love you, Sakura-chan."

The weight of all her worries melted away. She smiled into his chest and hugged him back with a grip that rivalled his own.

Earlier, in her mind, she had wanted him to be angry with her. She had put him through pain and wished he would get some kind of payback for that. Yet, in the here and now, her festering thoughts and emotions were sliding away. This moment was too perfect to spoil.

All she could do (and wanted to do) was engage in light banter with him. She pulled back and teased that her new boyfriend was absolutely terrible with romance; he just couldn't get his words out straight which almost made her think he didn't like her back. His gormless demeanor had made her panic.

He teased her back. He said that his new girlfriend was constantly giving off mixed signals and confused him entirely – he was fairly sure he was dreaming and all of this wasn't real. She could second that about him as well, and inwardly admitted that she wasn't good with all this stuff either.

She would be angry if this was a dream. She had enough realistic dreams to write a book and this moment was too important to not happen while she was awake. If this was a dream, she didn't want to wake up.

After pinching him to prove how real it was, and ignoring his pout, they went for ramen.

They caught up with everything that night.

The words flowed out of her mouth so naturally that she told him every single thing that happened to her while they were apart. Even the sad and the awkward moments came off as light conversation. She didn't linger on a single downer and ended every sentence on a positive note.

When it came to what Naruto had been up to, he looked a bit sheepish. He had been training a lot. That's all he really said about what he had done with his time. He had not visited his friends like she told him he should do. Ino had chased him down a couple of times so he found several new training (and hiding) spots.

She asked him if he ever looked for the mean girl who had broken up with him. Naruto commented that he had told that wonderful girl that he would always be there. After she asked if he had occasionally been stalking her, she acted annoyed at his awkward laugh and terrible change of conversation topic, but secretly, she was over the moon.

* * *

><p>So she delayed the serious talk. For hours. Days. Naruto's smile was so wide and infectious that she wouldn't dare weaken it in any way. She was in love. He was in love. It had got so much stronger since she said it too. Since she accepted it, a floodgate within her had opened up and would never shut again. She wholeheartedly believed that she could never feel any different, no matter what. For better or for worse, they would be together.<p>

Not that she could handle a marriage right now. Life was a little more complicated than that. She wanted to take it slow and Naruto didn't show any signs of wanting their relationship to be any different. He let her take the front seat and initiate everything. It didn't surprise her exactly. After everything they had been through together, Naruto managed to be right next to her at every moment without asking for a single thing in return. He affected her with his words and his thoughtfulness, and his facial expressions especially, but it was clear to her that he could not be more respectful.

She understood how he could do that and how he felt. She would do everything for him and if he needed, not push him in any way, shape or form. But their relationship had changed now. It would take them time to get used to it. She was looking forward to Naruto not worrying about pushing her emotionally. She didn't mind him trying to be romantic.

Despite their speed at learning to be a couple, they were serious about each other. She couldn't imagine it not being a lifetime thing... So she needed to also learn to breach the serious topics. In their situation, it was unavoidable. Even though she would support Naruto in anything, she wanted him to have an opt-out option when it came to her mental state. She wanted him to live a full life with everything he wanted.

"Sakura-chan..."

She looked at him. She had not realised he had been watching her this whole time.

Naruto's expression was curious, serious, he studied her closely. "What is it?"

_But, Naruto, I don't want this happiness to end. Why do you have to know me so well?_

He could see straight through her, despite what he said, he knew when she held words back.

They were currently sat on her sofa in her apartment. They had spent a lot of time there. The night was creeping in and the light they found themselves in only hours ago had dimmed progressively. They could just about see each other now. While they probably should move and go home, neither of them quite had the willpower to pull away. It was a strange atmosphere, calm and quiet. For a little while, they had been left to their own thoughts.

She was still technically staying at her parents, but more often than not she was with Naruto. Officially, her parents didn't know they were dating, but Sakura was sure they knew. She had avoided their sly looks and comments about what and who she was spending so much time with.

There was another unavoidable moment. When Naruto dropped her off at her house, one day her parents were going to give up their patience and be standing there. She knew it. Naruto would probably be a bit of a dork with his introductions and her parents' somewhat acted over-protectiveness was going to throw him off and embarrass her. That's why she had avoided it so far. She should really warn Naruto about her parents.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said again, breaking through her thoughts.

"Ah, I'm just thinking about what my parents are going to say when I tell them about us."

That was an honest answer. Her thought trail had quickly jumped from serious-serious topics to her non-serious, but important ideals about life. Really, that had always been the case with Naruto. Yes, she was struggling with the concepts of her amnesiac mental state, but then again, she wanted her parents to approve of her boyfriend. He meant that much to her.

Sakura sighed. It was all a distraction and an excuse. Naruto could see that too. He was still waiting for her real problem.

"OK," she began, "I'm worried about something that may affect our future."

"I'll be with you forever, no matter what," Naruto said with no hesitation.

Naruto's feelings, she had discovered, were so simple. He loved her and nothing would change that, affect it, or make him view her in a different light - whereas she worried about everything. She wondered if they were in opposite places, whether he would want her to leave him because of his brain issue, especially if it developed further.

Anterograde amnesia.

"You need to make an exception to that rule," she replied.

He titled his head and pulled a confused face. "What?"

"You know about my recent brain scans and that everything looks OK and likely that I won't get worse. However, if I ever fully develop anterograde amnesia, you have to avoid me for the rest of our lives."

"Why?"

Sakura smiled at him sadly. "Because whatever your plan is romantically for us, it will be impossible. If in the future, you want to get married, you want a family, with me... It can't happen. I'll be stuck in a state and never be able to recall our future."

It broke her heart to imagine it. She could see Naruto living with her and being unable to progress their relationship. She simply wouldn't be able to retain new memories and experiences and they would forever go through the same cycle again and again, her thinking it was the same day over and over. She told him this.

Naruto was not deterred. He gave her an honest smile. "My only 'romantic goal' is for you to be happy. I'll just have to make you happy every day and then if one day you do develop that, you will wake up believing that the day before was great. I would have to see you. I would still be happy."

That sounded like so much effort to her, but to him it was simple and instinctive. Why had she been so worried to share her thoughts with him? She thought it would rock the boat and their happiness would shatter, even if it was only for a moment, but in the end she just liked him even more.

Her eyes filled with tears. "You're very sweet."

He grinned.

She wiped her cheeks and dabbed at her wet eyes. "We can make this work. We're complicated but I want it to work. We could write a book! 'My girlfriend has amnesia. She's a nightmare'. Then, I wouldn't need a job at the hospital, I could be a writer. I've already been keeping a diary and it's relaxing, you know?"

It wasn't that serious of a thought. She still wanted to help out at the hospital, even if she never could fully be what she used to be. This diary she had been writing in every night had been a great comfort though – especially recently after a few happy days in her life. On the day she told Naruto she loved him, all she added was a smiley face and a little heart, unable to express how she felt before she went to sleep.

Sakura stopped her rambling because Naruto's smile was ridiculously wide. "...What?"

"I like it when you say you're my girlfriend."

She liked it too, but even now, she didn't often share those sorts of things openly.

"But what about my book idea? Do you think I could do that?"

"You can do anything."

"Obviously not," she muttered.

His smile fell slightly and she immediately chastised herself. "You've got to stop taking me seriously. If my amnesia gets you down, you're not allowed to be with me."

"Your sadness is what gets me down, Sakura-chan."

"It's not allowed to, because your sadness is painful for me."

That comment didn't help him.

"So from now on, we lie to each other when we're upset," she concluded.

When he gave her a half-confused nod, she hit him on the arm. "Don't you lie to me. Ever. You already do."

He pouted at her. "Sakura-chan."

"We will always tell each other the truth, even when we're sad. Can we make that a rule?"

He nodded.

"The second rule is to never be sad."

He laughed at her.

"You signed up for this. I told you I'm a mess."

He moved forward and hugged her, surprising her.

"I–" his breath hitched, "–like you as you are, mess and all."

"You're supposed to say I'm not a mess, jeez," she muttered into his chest, but hugged him back tightly. Despite her teasing comments, she didn't want him to pull away. In his arms, she really was that bit happier. He was the flick that pushed her over to the _no matter what happens, I have enough_. Anything could happen and she would be OK.

It made her happy to think that he liked her so much when she showed him how emotionally turbulent she was. He liked her so much that he almost said he loved her. She was fairly sure she felt the same as he did. If he was as glad to be with her as she was to be with him, then she 'liked' him too.

However, there was obviously something amiss with him. Naruto had been happy and happy to be with her, spend time together and talk for hours, but she knew there was something up. There was something in his eyes, something he was holding back, like a silent fear he was not prepared to share with her.

Naruto didn't seem like someone to say 'like' instead of 'love' to his girlfriend. She had caught this behaviour over the last few days, the odd action that implied he was holding himself back. Maybe he was hurt over what she had said before their break from each other. She could apologise again – go back to her original idea of asking him to be mad at her and get it all out of his system.

They pulled away, watched each other, smiled, trying to continue the conversation with their eyes. Naruto still seemed troubled, though.

"Also, no holding back feelings or thoughts that keep reoccurring – we need to share these things with each other."

Naruto held his breath.

"What's wrong, Naruto?"

_Knowing someone works both ways._

He lowered his head. "I've been selfish."

She moved forward to comfort him but he edged away from her touch. She looked at him, more sceptical than serious. "Just try and make me believe that."

"I was going to confess to you after I brought Sasuke home."

Sasuke again. He was always driving a wedge between them. She realised this pre-dated her amnesia. Things had changed now.

"I guess I pipped you to the post." She smiled. "Why does that make you selfish, Naruto? What were you expecting when you confessed?"

His sad smile made her heart lurch. "I was expecting you to be happy with him, still, not me. I should go out right now and drag Sasuke home before you decide you love me."

"All I'm hearing is _I'm a selfless idiot_."

He wasn't convinced.

"Sasuke frightens me," Sakura admitted. "He nearly killed you. Do you think he could be as good for me as you are?"

"I'd make him."

"I think that makes you the better man."

The dark was creeping in now. They sat there in the fading light, facing each other on the sofa. Sakura couldn't help but think how beautiful he was – on the inside and out. They were completely open with each other, in a rare serious moment.

"I don't want to love him. And I love you. What do I have to do to make you believe me?"

He stared at her, like he was looking through her, like he was looking for the lie. But then he smiled.

She reached down for his hand, entangled it with her own.

"I love you."

"I love you."

She kissed him and he completely relaxed, kissing her back.

She didn't bother leaving the house to go to sleep. She rested her head on Naruto's shoulder and closed her eyes. He leant his head on hers.

"Naruto," she mumbled sleepily.

"Sakura-chan?"

"If you ever have a haunting thought or if you're upset about something, please tell me," she requested, tired but sincere.

"Okay," he whispered.

"Because helping you with things like that, like you do for me, is all I hope I can do."

* * *

><p>They woke up on the sofa. Sakura was the first to open her eyes and she manoeuvred so she could lie on her back with her head resting in Naruto's lap. Like this, she could watch him.<p>

He looked peaceful. You wouldn't tell all that he was going through. She, on the other hand, was a bit of a mess. But Naruto was a silent worrier, a silent hero. It occurred to her that their lives had never been simple. It wasn't just after she hit her head, a lot more was going on around them.

Even with all that, Naruto was still worried about Sasuke. Naruto was still worried about a promise to her, about her feelings for the Uchiha. She hoped she had cleared that up last night; it was Naruto she loved. Yet she still worried she hadn't done enough to convince her boyfriend. Times like this made her hate her past self, but love her present company.

She wished she could truly start again. Erase her bad past from not only her head, but Naruto's, from Sasuke's, from everyone she hurt. She wished she could dish out selective amnesia to everyone she cared about. Take away sadness. Replace it with joy. Take away fear. Replace it with love.

It was this deep thinking that Naruto woke up to.

Naruto smiled at her sleepily. "Morning."

"Morning. I've been thinking."

"Mm?"

"Can we visit the Uchiha District?"

Her words were an instant kick to his consciousness.

"Uh," Naruto's eyes widened, "we have before, after Sasuke left, once."

"I want to go, once more."

Naruto rubbed at his tired eyes in an attempt to process this more seriously. "Are you looking for memories?"

"No. I'm looking for closure."

* * *

><p>The cold morning matched their somber mood. They had eaten breakfast in relative silence, contemplative of what they might feel on this visit. Sakura was aware that this was as big a thing for Naruto as it was for her – for very different reasons. Not just because of Naruto's confession to her last night about not telling her he loved her until Sasuke was home, but because Sasuke was his best friend and he was still away from home.<p>

The Uchiha district, in the corner of the village, abandoned and aged, managed to outdo the chilly weather. In fact, it could have been sunny and this place would have still looked sad.

"Looks cold," Sakura concluded.

They were barely through the entrance.

Naruto's brave smile fell a little. "That's exactly what you said the first time."

Without speaking, they walked side by side passed the empty buildings.

Despite it all, Sakura could picture people living here, families and friends. She could see passed the rundown sites around her: a whole clan of people used to live here, in Konoha, the village that was still her home. Losing a place like this, and all its inhabitants, was tragic.

The massacre leaving only one survivor and setting said child on a vengeful path was heartbreaking to imagine. That survivor was her teammate and her friend. That survivor was lost and alone and angry.

She didn't feel anything new for coming here. She wasn't bombarded with memories or feelings of _love._ She was, however, determined to bring that survivor home. Sasuke Uchiha couldn't get rid of that goal even after she had amnesia. Even if he hated her now, hated the whole village, it was just tough luck for him.

Konoha meant so much to her – saved her after her brain injury, both physically and mentally – this place and its people could have the same benefits for Sasuke. Sakura was sure that Naruto could save Sasuke on his own and bring him back to the light, but she wouldn't let either of them be alone.

Sakura stopped walking and after a few paces Naruto did also. He turned to look back at her. He looked as vulnerable as she felt, but that same determination shone through his eyes.

"He still frightens me," she admitted, "but he is our friend, our teammate, a member of Team 7. I want to bring him home."

Naruto's fists balled at his side. "He frightens me too... what he has become. We will get him back though, we have to."

Sakura nodded. "I understand... I really do understand."

"Not many do. So many of the villagers are against him now."

Sakura could see why. Sasuke had done some horrible things, sure, but she kept grasping at those images of a young boy, at that Team 7 photograph at her bedside. This place was a screaming reason for Sasuke's derailing. But as Sakura met Naruto's gaze, she knew they had plenty of reasons of their own to save Sasuke.

Sakura realised that while Sasuke did drive a wedge between them, that wasn't as strong as the way he brought them together. Here stood two determined ninjas with a lifelong goal of bringing home their third half. Nothing would stop them, not even Sasuke.

"I can't do a lot right now," Sakura smiled sadly, "to drag him home. But I will work on it. And I believe in you, and Sasuke, and that we can bring him back."

Naruto straightened, smiled and stretched his arm to give her an encouraging thumbs up. It was like a silent thank you, a silent promise. "We can do it, Sakura-chan."

Sakura smiled back, walked up to him and encased his outstretched hand in her own. She pulled him onwards and this time they walked hand in hand.

By the time they reached the outskirts of the district, the weather had picked up a bit, as if egging on their growing sense of purpose.

Sakura even spotted something out of the corner of her eye that looked like a small red flower. She turned fully to look closer and approached it with confusion, Naruto just behind her.

There had been no wildlife around here at all – as if it didn't have permission to grow – but it looked like something had been growing alongside one of the houses.

"Look, Naruto–" Sakura trailed off.

A flower had been growing out of a dismal patch of soil alongside this house. It wasn't an ideal place to begin with; the roof above it would block sunlight and rain and it had no space to grow into. It looked like it had tried to survive regardless of its conditions. It was alone attempting to live in an unwelcoming place. It looked like it had done OK to begin with, too.

However, it had been trampled on several times, kicked into the ground until it was no more than broken, crumpled petals and a battered stem.

"Do people come here?"

Naruto stared at it, wide-eyed. "Nobody's been here for years."

Then who (aggressively) killed this plant? And would that answer be of any use to them in their search for Sasuke? The thought made her anxious, and she tried to dampen the hope that was building up inside her. This was odd and unexplained but it could be something, maybe?

"Can we find out who it was?" she asked Naruto, trying to sound normal.

Naruto met her gaze and she could tell he was as nervous and hopeful as she was.

"We can try."

Naruto's clone fetched Kakashi Hatake.

Kakashi stared, like they had, for a while at the broken flower. Then, without a word he summoned a small pug, a ninja hound Kakashi called Pakkun.

Sakura wasn't expecting the deep, gruff voice from such a small dog and it surprised her when he greeted her by name. Of course she knew him, she thought, just another friend she was meeting all over again. It didn't bother her though, because they were here on a curious mission.

Pakkun sniffed the flower and his whole body jumped to alert. "This is Sasuke's scent."

"Are you certain?" Kakashi asked, sounding like he already knew the answer.

"It's faint, but it's definitely him."

And so a whole team of ninja hounds were summoned. Kakashi instructed Naruto to inform Lady Tsunade of this find right away and a clone went racing off.

Sakura's nerves increased – not because she was afraid, but because she wanted to be useful to this search.

"Well done, Sakura." Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder. "Great find."

For one of the first times since she woke up in that hospital room, she felt a genuine rush of pride.

* * *

><p>The scale of the operation, while small, included the efforts of the Hokage herself. This was big news to all of them.<p>

Tsunade smiled when she saw Naruto and Sakura together but was quick to focus on the task at hand.

It was a concentrated search. The scent was old but it could help them identify how Sasuke had gotten into the village undetected. Not only that, but if they could find his point of entry, and go unnoticed by the Uchiha, they could track or even trap the missing nin if he ever set foot here again.

"If we could lure him back, could we lay a trap for him?"

Naruto got excited at the idea, but the Hokage – who was stood with both of them as Kakashi's dogs searched the area – stopped their brainstorm. "If we find where Sasuke got in, I'm in my right mind to block his entrance. Lure Sasuke Uchiha to Konoha? I think not."

"But, Granny!" Naruto whined. "We could bring Sasuke home."

Tsunade looked as if she was about to shoot down the idea again, but stopped herself when she saw two sets of hopeful eyes looking back at her. "Don't get ahead of yourselves. This flower was protected from the weather from the walls and roof. There is a chance Sasuke's scent is lost beyond this point."

Naruto became increasingly fidgety as the search dragged on. Just like her, he wished he could be doing more to help. He had searched the area with several clones but the team of dogs preferred to work without his questions and distractions. He went off in search for Kakashi, hoping for a positive update.

Sakura remained in the streets, staring at the dismal flower. Sasuke stamped it into the ground. It had been so small, a weak but pretty existence.

Tsunade approached her and stood by her side. "Why were you here, Sakura? I would hope chasing Sasuke is not in your plans to recover your memories."

Sakura did not take her gaze off the flower. "It's not in my plans to recover my memories, no. It's a separate goal. This wasn't to do with me, shishou. Naruto and I are going to bring Sasuke home. I know you disapprove of him and of us chasing him but he's our friend."

The Hokage was silent for a long while and Sakura feared she might argue against their plans – ban them from chasing Sasuke. What could Sakura do in her current state? She couldn't fight Sasuke. Surely that was a good enough reason for the Hokage to hold her back, physically if need be. Sakura didn't want Naruto to do this alone, though. She didn't want any more secret missions with him and Kakashi disappearing into the night, possibly hurting themselves, getting themselves killed, without her as backup. She would find a way to be of use, no matter what.

Last time she met Sasuke she was unprepared, she was frightened, but now she was a different person. She was stronger, mentally, even with a damaged brain. Sakura was about to open her mouth to convey this to her mentor – to convince her – but Tsunade placed a hand on shoulder and squeezed it.

"I know, Sakura. I know you'd chase Sasuke against my wishes, regardless. I'll make sure you're prepared if it ever happens."

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto came bounding back towards her. "We've found something!"

What Kakashi and his team had found was a cobbled wall. On the wall was a faded mark, inked in black, it looked like the Uchiha crest. It was surrounded by other strange markings. This wall sat innocently in one of the houses, downstairs in a basement.

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"A seal," Kakashi answered. "Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade frowned at it in thought. "It could definitely open a passageway."

"How has this been missed?" Kakashi murmured.

"There are many things about the Uchiha we don't know. This could have been covered up, or only recently activated by Sasuke."

"At least that explains how Sasuke got in," Sakura said. "There's got to be another entrance on the outskirts of the village hasn't there?"

Tsunade nodded. "Definitely."

Kakashi glanced at her. "That's how Sasuke got back to you so quickly. He led a false trail for us to find. He must have used this tunnel to outrun us. The entrance has to be between here and the base we found."

Tsunade looked at Naruto and Sakura. "We'll look into it. For now, the two of you can go. There is nothing further for you to do at the moment."

They went to complain but Tsunade held up her hand. "I will call you into my office when we have investigated it further. We'll put together a team but the two of you have to be patient. Something like this is to be handled with extreme care.

Sasuke thinks Naruto is dead. He won't come waltzing back any time soon and I highly doubt he would be stupid enough to be lured here. At the least, we can patch up a hole in our security and that's very important. But do not come back here. It could be dangerous."

Despite her disappointment, Sakura acknowledged the order with a nod. She agreed with Tsunade. She didn't know about seals, nor did she think they could lure Sasuke back easily – how many years had they been trying to do that?

Naruto took more convincing. He didn't want to leave, not when they had found something so promising.

Sakura wrapped her hand around Naruto's arm and gave him a gentle tug towards the stairs. "Come on, Naruto."

Tsunade smiled at them. "Listen to your girlfriend, Naruto."

Despite her comfort with her new relationship, Sakura found herself blushing. They hadn't told anybody yet, but it looks like Tsunade knew, so did Kakashi now.

Naruto (who took any mention of their relationship status very well) finally cracked a smile. "I always listen to her, Granny!"

Sakura snorted and pulled him along with her. "Yeah right!"

"Eh, Sakura-chan?!"

"Your listening skills are _terrible_, Naruto."

To give the boy credit, he concentrated on the things she said a lot more than the words spoken by others – but he also zoned out a lot when he looked at her and she was certain he had selective hearing. She knew he was the type to do stupid and dangerous things. She knew he was going to make her worry a lot and go against her wishes when he decided to do something that he thought was the right thing to do.

However, their feelings for each other were no longer suppressed. If one of them was going to do something stupid, they both were. They were a team now, more so than before. Even if Sakura had amnesia and she wasn't as 'scary' as she used to be with her 'monster strength' and threats only a medical ninja could make, she was going to find other ways to rein him in and keep him safe.

Their life went beyond her mental state and it was about time she juggled it all more effectively. Friends, amnesia fighting, her duty to Konoha, her relationship with Naruto, their goal to bring Sasuke home... There was so much to do. It was time she had several plans of action.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

Finally, I am back into Amnesia. The Naruto ending was a firm kick to my motivation – especially given the very first scene of this chapter – but this will never be abandoned. _I will finish it._ ASAP.

Thank you for all the nudges during my lack of updates. I appreciate the support and your reminders to get my act into gear were seriously needed sometimes. I've been out of the fandom completely which worried me when it came to writing these characters again.

If anybody happened to look at my profile in the last couple of months you would see my disgruntled effort to wrap my head around finishing this story. I reread it all again and touched up some parts. Now I've posted this, I have no excuses not to get the rest done.

I had originally planned to write the rest of the story, edit it and then post it all. However, the two moments of this chapter were inevitable. Both of these plot points have been planned for years and therefore I'm less nervous about posting this. I might only post the next chapters after the whole thing is written, but we'll see – I don't want to take that long wrapping it up either way.

Regarding this chapter, the first scene with Naruto is one I have written many times. Since I decided what was going to happen here, occasionally I would be inspired to write it. It would be similar each time, but different. It wasn't always an 'I love you' confession, although it always did imply strong feelings between Naruto and Sakura.

I think for better, I used none of those pre-written scenes (all written on my phone late at night when the inspiration struck), and typed a new one on my computer. I do still occasionally fit in pre-written scenes that I have written over the years which shape the plot among new ideas. Each chapter, these notes and scenes I want to include are getting less and less, either used or binned.

I am getting to the point in my writing where I decide to cut bits out: sentences, dialogue, even paragraphs, and with this chapter I cut near half a scene and took the plot in a different direction. I was also tempted to take out part of Naruto and Sakura's second talk where Sakura starts rambling... I didn't cut it and I might regret that later on.

In my reread I was very aware that Amnesia is too long (some chapters especially); the plot has issues (with hindsight Sasuke might not be in it at all and the NaruSaku build up would have been done differently), I'd cut big chunks out if I could in an attempt to streamline the main themes etc. That's why I am so tempted to draft the rest of this story and then edit it, possibly adding things but more likely removing parts before the chapters are posted.

I'm going to do my best to tie up the loose ends. I think my writing has improved a lot since I started this over three years ago, but I'm still learning.

Feel free to provide feedback on any part of the Amnesia plot, my writing or my publishing plans for the rest of this story.

Thanks for sticking with me! I appreciate it.


	22. Plans of Action

**Amnesia**

Chapter 22: Plans of Action

* * *

><p>There was no reason for Sakura to continue hiding from her friends. She asked Naruto to tell anybody he saw that she'd be happy, and even appreciative, of people coming up to say hi. He must have put in the effort to find people and spread the news because she noticed the change immediately.<p>

It was as if more people were around her constantly. Her friends popped up all over the place. Before, they were nowhere to be seen, but now, she was bumping into people she knew everywhere she went. And she really was happy to see them – her teammates especially.

Captain Yamato soon found her and she was the first to spot Sai who awkwardly acknowledged her, leaving her to chase after him so she could speak to him. What he said though, caught her off guard.

"You're dating Naruto now?"

Of course Naruto spread that news.

"Yes," she said slowly, watching Sai's face and waiting for some kind of strange or (unintentionally) rude comment.

Sai held his chin in thought. "I was expecting this."

Sakura hummed, still uncomfortable. What he said could have been worse though, right?

"I have read lots of books on the signs of love."

Making an effort to bond with her friend, she forced a smile. "I love reading too. I have a book, _Love: The Biological Basis and Scientific Explanations_, I could lend you that if you want."

Sai, still thoughtful, shook his head. "I prefer books on social etiquette, for all the things I don't understand about people. You and Naruto are my basis for human interaction."

No wonder the boy always came off as confused.

"But, Sai... Naruto and I aren't your typical relationship, we're really complicated don't you think?"

Sai smiled at her, and for once it came off as a genuine gesture. "I've never thought you were that complicated, Sakura. I've always thought you and Naruto loved each other. As your friend, I'm just glad you're happy."

"That's really sweet, Sai."

"And it also means I can find out more about romantic relationships from you."

Sakura's smile turned awkward. "Maybe we'll work up to that."

Sai continued to smile.

* * *

><p>Sai wasn't the only one to share optimistic congratulations on Sakura's new relationship with Naruto. Plenty of people commented on it wherever she went. Sakura was sure even strangers were smiling at her and wishing her luck. It was like the whole village was invested in her romantic life. It was nice, for once, to be a cheerful gossip topic, so Sakura tried to take it all in her stride and joke back with anybody who struck up a conversation with her.<p>

It didn't take long for Ino to corner her in the street and Ino also knew of the romantic development that had transpired in Sakura's life. Sakura didn't deny it, and to her surprise there was no teasing from her best friend, no jibs, just a very overdramatic "_Finally_."

"News travels so fast," Sakura commented. "It's like the whole of Konoha knows."

Ino winked at her. "Of course they do. I've been telling everyone."

Of course she has. Sakura should have realised it was her best friend spreading the news. Naruto could barely get through an admittance of their relationship status without getting a far-off look in his eyes and going through some internal flashback which was hard to snap him out of. Sakura even found herself drifting off into memory lane with a smile on her face she couldn't help but express.

Ino raised two eyebrows. "No outburst of anger? I was expecting you to be annoyed."

Sakura smiled at her friend. "Ino, I think this is the first good news I've managed to bring to the village since I woke up from my coma. I'm glad everyone is so supportive and happy for us. Although some of them are little too invested..."

"Oooh, I know. Some people have no shame."

Sakura shot her friend a look – if there was anybody too into her relationship with Naruto it was Ino Yamanaka.

Ino grinned. "I am your best friend so I am excused. You owe me money by the way. We made a drunken bet in a bar together. I bet you would start dating Naruto within the next year and you have."

"Ino, I don't think it's fair that you keep holding me to things I said before I got amnesia. You could be making it up. As my best friend, you should let me off."

"No way, Forehead! As your best friend I should hold you to every word and mistake you ever make."

Sakura frowned at her.

"Fine. I'll let you off this one. Plenty of other villagers got in on the bet anyway so I did quite well."

"You have no shame."

Ino flicked her hair over her shoulder and looked way too pleased with herself. "I know."

* * *

><p>Sakura and Naruto were very into their Sasuke discussion as of late. They had been spinning off all sorts of ideas (some admittedly ridiculous) to capture their long lost teammate. This evening, however, they were a lot mellower.<p>

They were curled up on the sofa together; Naruto's head in her lap, and Sakura had just finished reading a book on seals. She had taken to reading them out loud. Naruto didn't seem to take in a lot of the words, but he was perfectly content to listen to her drone on.

Tomorrow morning they would see the Hokage for an update on the seal in the Uchiha District. There wasn't much they could do until they heard what Tsunade had to say and so neither of them felt like theorising too much.

Sakura closed her book and put it on the arm of the chair. She laced a hand through Naruto's hair and decided to settle on a much lighter topic.

"Do I owe Ino any money?"

Naruto stared up at her. "No?"

"How do you know? Did you used to keep an eye on my finances?"

"No, you usually help me manage mine," he admitted.

Her heart leapt at the knowledge. "I can still do that!"

She could learn about their economy and pay rates. She could be of use to Naruto. It excited her that she could make his life easier in some way. She didn't need chakra control to help out with this.

He rubbed the back of his head, smiling as his hand brushed hers still nestled in his hair. "Good because I've not paid my taxes since you last helped me."

She looked at him seriously. No wonder she always used to help him out. It sounded like she forced him to do these things more than anything.

"You're kidding? You need to get that sorted, Naruto!"

He pouted. "But I've been doing important things."

"How have you gotten away with it?"

"The people who chase you up came round to my apartment when you were there once. They threatened me. You talked to them and they haven't bothered me since."

She raised an eyebrow, trying to imagine what she might have said to someone who threatened Naruto in front of her. "I scared them?"

He grinned. "So much I think they wet themselves."

He seemed to find great amusement in such a serious matter. She frowned in thought. She didn't care if she no longer had her ninja abilities, if someone threatened Naruto of course she would protect him. She didn't care if he was at fault, he didn't deserve to be punished, even for his mistakes – by others anyway, she was partial to the idea of being the sole person to tell him what was right and wrong about frivolous matters.

"You'd leant Ino money before," he told her. "I don't think she's paid you back yet."

She rolled her eyes, not at all surprised. "Are all our friends so unreliable?"

"Uhh... yes. You can always rely on me though, Sakura-chan."

"I do get that sense. You're never far away are you?"

"Never."

Even if between them they were missing years of memories and life experience, and they were apparently terrible with handling money, she was feeling pretty happy right now. They were going through chaos and had so many things to think about and worry over, but when it was just the two of them she couldn't feel any safer.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Sakura felt somewhat important among the people in the Hokage's office. Kakashi and Naruto stood either side of her. They were their own little Sasuke retrieval squad.<p>

Others had gotten involved too. The rest of the Rookie Nine were apparently all aware. Yamato and Sai also knew of the recent development in Sasuke's modus operandi. There was a genuine buzz about the topic and Sakura and Naruto were especially hopeful.

That was until Tsunade addressed the three of them.

"We're not going to be able to get passed the seal."

Sakura's heart sank. "Can we not smash through or something?"

Tsunade smiled at the thought. "It is specifically designed to only open when mixed with an Uchiha's blood. Similar to a summons, a strip of fresh blood should do the trick.

"Even with the blood it would be dangerous for a non-Uchiha to travel through. If it closed it could trap whoever is inside and who knows the exact requirements of the Uchiha's DNA to get out again alive."

Naruto wasn't impressed. "Surely we can do _something_."

"Patrols will continue to look out for the other entrance. We have an estimated radius for its location but it won't be easy. Our next priority would be to disable the tunnel altogether."

"But if Sasuke knows he can't get in and out so easily, he's even more likely to stay away! We can't block it!"

"Think about the damage Sasuke caused the last time he got in. I won't let such a blaring safety issue be left alone."

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other. The last time Sasuke got in they were both hurt – Kiba too. They didn't want to put their friends' lives in danger. They would get Sasuke back, but not at the cost of another life.

"For now," Tsunade continued, "it is being monitored. However, I don't want manpower wasted on this. The likelihood of Sasuke returning is slim. He would be foolish to think he could get away with it again."

Sakura knew Tsunade understood Team 7's need to get Sasuke back, but the fierceness in her tone and eyes was not missed by those in the office. Tsunade's priority was Konoha's safety, their safety, and she clearly didn't think too highly of Sasuke at all.

"What if we find a way to tell him I'm alive," Naruto suggested, "lure him back then grab him."

"I will take no such risk," Tsunade said with an air of finality.

"We can't set some kind of trap?" Sakura offered. She wasn't keen on the idea of using Naruto as bait either.

"We will, inconspicuously if possible. We'll want to debilitate him in some way."

A light bulb went off in Sakura's mind. "So a strip of fresh blood from a cut, like a summons, will open it."

"I doubt Sasuke would carry round a vial of blood; it would likely be fresh at the entrance, yes, it might even have to be to work."

"So he'd have an open wound which he would smear against the seal."

While Tsunade raised an eyebrow and Kakashi had her full attention, Naruto wasn't following along.

Excited, Sakura continued, "If we can't open the seals ourselves, can't we cover it with a substance, something that will go straight into his bloodstream? A poison or something to knock him out – dermal toxicology. Then, he'd either come in weakened, or if he figured we had tampered with the seal he might not enter Konoha at all. That either helps us capture him or prevents him attacking us."

Naruto grabbed her by the arms and shook her, mirroring her enthusiasm. "You're a genius, Sakura-chan!"

They turned collectively to the Hokage. Tsunade regarded them in silence for a moment. "It might work. We could probably work on a poison and an antidote, something to disable Sasuke and draw attention to his presence. The seal is old, and while we can't open or destroy it we may find a way to layer our own trap above it."

"Can I help?!" Sakura asked.

Her mentor smiled at her. "From what I hear from Shizune, you still have a knack for poisons. We would appreciate the help, Sakura."

Sakura high-fived Naruto and they both grinned at each other. It was so good to feel useful, especially for something so closed to her heart.

"It's not going to be too exciting," Tsunade warned her. "And who knows, it might not work, and Sasuke may never use the entrance again. All you might get out of it is spending time with me."

"Tough luck," Naruto muttered.

It was instinctive – she didn't want anybody insulting her mentor in any way – she slapped Naruto around the back of the head. "Naruto!"

Naruto was still too happy to care – he even seemed happy to be hit, like he'd missed it. He rubbed the back of his head, but didn't stop grinning all the same.

They all felt like they were getting somewhere and that infused them with a feeling that was beyond relief. Sakura felt like everything was going right – if she worked extra hard with her amnesia, maybe positive progress could finally be made there, too.

* * *

><p>There was something about working with Tsunade and Shizune, two of the greatest medical minds in history Sakura was sure, that made you feel enlightened, important and highly engaged. The knowledge that leaked from them was palpable and more than anything Sakura wanted to impress them.<p>

It was like a switch had flicked; any prior reservation or wariness that Tsunade had treated Sakura with was gone. After Sakura's recent contributions and ideas, it was like they were equals. Sakura wanted to bring it up, to say thank you, but she didn't dare take away from the seriousness of the atmosphere surrounding them in the lab.

The increasingly hefty book with all their knowledge on poisons and potions was out and on the table, various herbs lay about around them, and Sakura busied herself poring over the book, hoping to gain inspiration where the other two medics had memories and experiences. Also, continuingly seeing her hand writing made her feel slightly more worthy to be part of this team.

They had discussed a lot of things; this was no ordinary seal they were trying to outplay. They still needed to find the other end of the tunnel and the sister seal. There was also the question of how to handle Sasuke. Sakura had tentatively pointed out that she didn't think it was the best idea to poison Sasuke in a way that could kill him – he didn't seem the type to give up his pride and come looking for help. Tsunade and Shizune agreed, although they didn't seem as bothered as Sakura did as to whether they accidently hurt Sasuke a lot in the process.

Tsunade had played with the idea of a compound which would allow them to track Sasuke if they managed to get it into his bloodstream. It would have to be almost odourless (or Sasuke would notice), something perhaps only Pakkun and the ninja hounds could track. There were plenty of clans in Konoha that had all sorts of abilities, surely they could settle on something else trackable by one of these special skills.

"Or perhaps something simple enough to dull Sasuke's senses, something that breaks down slow enough to go unnoticed until it's too late," Shizune suggested. "Set traps further in the district, hope he triggers them while he's tripping out."

"Sasuke is skilled. We'd have to work out the dosage and the time it'll take to travel from the seal, we wouldn't want him catching on before he's affected by the drug."

Sakura flicked over a page in her book. "Then we just need to make it undetectable and durable enough to last until Sasuke uses the seal, simple."

There was a short silence and Sakura looked up to see both women watching her. "What?"

"You were always big on your reading," Tsunade said with a fond smile.

"I've read so much of my bookshelf in my apartment recently. I finished a book on seals last night. I thought it was very interesting, although Naruto fell asleep partway through." Her smile fell slightly. "I guess me learning it all the first time was a bit of a waste, huh?"

"Knowledge is never a waste, Sakura. Even now, you might not be able to perform a jutsu but your extensive knowledge will come to be an invaluable asset again."

Sakura nodded, but bowed her head again, pretending to read the book once more.

"You could have died. You could have lost the ability for normal cognitive function. I am so glad you came back to us still as bright and brave as you are now."

Sakura raised her head and stared at her mentor, overwhelmed with love for the woman. She couldn't put into words how much she appreciated it.

Tsunade gave her an encouraging smile. "I am sorry for avoiding you at the start, but I look forward to working with you now and in the future. It'll be fun getting to know you for a second time."

"Thank you, shishou. That means a lot to me. I respect you a hell of a lot, I have immeasurably so even before I got to know you again."

Shizune was smiling at both of them and she piped up with a cheeky, "When you really get to know your mentor again, that respect will go downhill fast."

To Sakura's surprise, Tsunade didn't get angry, she laughed and agreed, "I never plan to let Sakura see me in quite as rough states as you have, Shizune, not until I'm retired anyway."

Sakura grinned at them both. Then, with a sheepish change of subject she asked, "Seals can affect memory can't they?"

Tsunade nodded. "There are many seals and jutsus that can damage, suppress or hinder a person's memory. However, we know the fall you had was much more natural. Inoichi Yamanaka thoroughly searched your brain for foul play anyway."

Sakura hummed. "And you still think it's worth Inoichi Yamanaka looking at my brain again?"

"Inoichi is incredibly skilled when it comes to the mind. I would trust him to look at your brain more than our scans with technology. There is only so much a picture will show."

"I'll go and see him again," Sakura decided. She needed to get her priorities straight and anything Tsunade thought was worth doing would definitely go high on that list.

"Do you want to spend some time in these sessions looking at your amnesia?" Shizune asked hopefully.

"To be honest, Shizune-san, I was going to bring the research down with me but it wasn't there when I looked."

Tsunade held up a finger before moving across the room. She opened a laboratory cupboard and then came back with the piles of research they had been working through previously.

It seemed like they all had the same idea. They were certainly a productive team.

* * *

><p>Sakura was spending so much time out of the house she may as well move back into her apartment; that's where she was hanging out with Naruto the most, that's where she was glued to her bookcase. She felt a new found freedom from being there, alone or otherwise, it was no longer an alien experience. She was getting used to the clothes in her wardrobe, the location of her plates and cutlery, everything just felt normal.<p>

She was comfortable being there. She didn't need her parents to hold her together anymore. She loved and appreciated them for doing so over the past few weeks, but she was ready to move back out.

While her parents weren't surprised by her admittance and her plans to move back into her apartment, after a family day together they did get misty-eyed as she stood at the door to leave.

"I'd just gotten used to having you back home," Mebuki admitted.

"Please don't leave me with your mother," her dad pleaded.

To everyone's surprise, it was Sakura who hit him for that. It was a joking punch on the shoulder, but she thought it was necessary. "You'll both be fine, dad. I'm leaving whatever, so I wouldn't insult mum right before I go."

Kizashi rubbed his shoulder but smiled at her. "You're probably right, dear. Your mother knows I didn't mean it."

A look from his wife showed Mebuki might not completely agree but he cleared his throat and continued, "You can come home any time, Sakura."

Mebuki annoyance instantly sobered up and she moved to hug her daughter. "Not just when you want or need to either. Drop by more, OK?"

Sakura hugged her mum and also slipped an arm around her dad when he hugged them both too. "I will. And you can both come round to my apartment, too. I'm out a lot recently, but we should mark a date on the calendar."

Her parents pulled back and Mebuki asked with a knowing smile, "Will Naruto be there?"

Clearing her throat, Sakura conveniently caught sight of the picture she had first seen when she entered her parents' house on that particularly sad and confused night – the night she had given up Naruto in an attempt to find herself. "He might be. We should all go out for lunch sometime. He'd like that."

Sakura hadn't needed to tell her parents she was dating Naruto – like they hadn't assumed anyway – the gossip reached them as fast as it reached the rest of the villagers. They were happy for her, like everybody else.

Sakura smiled at the family portrait, no longer afraid of it, no longer saddened by it. She looked back at her parents. "Thanks for everything."

"Any time, Sakura, _any time_," her mum said, still angling for more family visits.

"You could repay us with food or small gifts," her dad suggested.

Sakura laughed. "I'll keep an eye out and if I see anything worthy of a 'thank you' to you both I'll pop round."

She opened the door and headed out into the night, waving over her shoulder as she went.

"Don't work too hard, honey!" Mebuki called after her.

"Unless that's working hard to buy us a good present – ow! – I mean, what your mother said!"

As Sakura walked home that night, along the now familiar streets of her hometown, it was a comfortable thought to know her parents would never change.

* * *

><p>Sakura was on a role with good news and productivity, that's why standing in front of Inoichi made her slightly nervous. He knew she was coming to meet him and he could also see how wary she was of the outcome.<p>

They had sat together in the Yamanaka garden for a drink prior to getting started – an obvious attempt to cool her worry. It somewhat worked. The weather was bright and sunny and it made her think of all the good things going on despite her problems.

Inoichi spoke to her calmly, asking how she had been, commenting with fondness on all Ino had been telling him recently about how she was getting on (obviously, about her and Naruto). Sakura joked about how nosy his daughter was before, more seriously and with a deep, calming breath, saying that recently everything was going very well and she was happy.

Then they stood up and walked to the centre of the grass. Inoichi placed his hands either side of Sakura's temples and closed his eyes. She closed her eyes as well, attempting to clear her mind of thought and worry.

The weird feeling was back as images flashed so quickly through her brain she barely recognised them. Recent and old, the focus quickly centred on Sakura's memories right around the time she woke up from her coma. Inoichi spent longer looking compared to his initial search of her brain, and for a period of time all Sakura pictured was a long stretch of black nothingness.

She felt a little dizzy as he removed his hands. She opened her eyes and squinted in the sunlight before focusing her gaze on Inochi's thoughtful face.

"That's interesting," he hummed.

"Interesting?" Sakura repeated. "What's interesting?"

"Your brain damage has completely healed. I still can't find your memories, but not because they're not there."

Bemused, she stared at him. "What?"

He was calm as he regarded her, his face blank. "You're good at resisting mind jutsus, Sakura, you did so to Ino as a young child, it takes a lot of will and inner-strength."

Her jaw dropped. She was shocked at what Ino's father was apparently insinuating. "I don't understand, you're saying I no longer have amnesia?"

Inoichi took a step back and casually shrugged. "You had amnesia, your brain is healed, I just can't find your memories because you don't want me to."

But that suggested Sakura was doing this all on _purpose_. That she had a choice in the matter. That made her very angry. All her previous calm and happiness twisted into rage. Still, desperation won the place for her most prominent emotion. She didn't want people assuming this about her – not her friends or friends' family.

"I can't remember them either," she told him in a slightly raised voice.

"You're unconsciously suppressing them, whether it's on purpose or not, I don't know. Before you hit your head, did you go through any kind of traumatic experience? Something that made you want to suppress your memories?"

Sakura gritted her teeth. "No... Not that I remember."

"If you say so."

Sakura narrowed her eyes and her fists clenched at her sides. "Just what are you saying?"

"I've studied all sorts of minds." Inoichi took another step back, as if to separate himself from someone like her, a faker. "Some patients with mental issues or past mental issues may decide to continue acting out their illness in an attempt for, say, attention."

"Attention?" Sakura raised her voice again, almost shouting now. "You think I'm doing this for _attention_?!"

Inoichi shook his head. "It was merely a suggestion."

His calm demeanour only added to her fury.

"I am _not_ pretending to have amnesia for attention! I would _never_ put my friends, or myself, through all this pain and trouble on _purpose_."

Sakura was so angry that she dug her heel into the ground, and to her great surprise, the floor beneath her foot cracked and splintered under her strength. The whole garden seemed to shake until she released the pressure of her bulldozing foot. A nearby statue had split straight in two and fell apart. Everything near to her had started to crumble.

With wide eyes, shocked and disbelieving, Sakura looked back up at Inoichi to see him smiling at her in the annoying way Ino often did when she had managed to wind Sakura up so much that she'd admitted something embarrassing.

With weak knees, Sakura sank down to the ground and her hands fell upon the cracked earth she had just ripped in two. She gripped it, trying to believe it was real. She had no idea what just happened.

* * *

><p><strong>Author notes:<strong>

Is that a cruel place to leave it? Do I need to update soon now? Don't get too ahead of yourselves. It might not be as simple as it seems.

The Inoichi scene is one of the first scenes I ever wrote for this story; it's been pushed back since over a hundred thousand words ago. Perhaps it doesn't fit as well now as it could have done in the past, but it's pretty important to the plot and how I've decided to move forward with the storyline.

I had started this chapter after I finished the last one but it wasn't until yesterday and today that I wrote most of this. Since I posted the last chapter, I've been away on holiday. I'm also a year older and wiser (or perhaps just the former). Even though, for me, less than two months is a much better gap between posting chapters, I will try and speed up the next update. These chapters are somewhat shorter again. Too short?

When I read back, Naruto seemed very mature in chapter 21. So did Sakura. I felt like I should continue that into the future. They've grown together and gotten past such a big barrier in their lives. They're also happy and this surge of energy has come with that. They're almost at a domestic relationship sort of level. They've been friends long enough and have enough going on that they're really bonding quickly and kind of need each other so they can have some kind of positive progression.

I also realised through the last chapter, and this one, that I've almost turned it into a vignette-style paced story. Suddenly everything is on fast forward. Part of that I think is deliberate. I've been writing this for so long and I _really_ want to finish it. It's like a guilt I've been carrying for over three years.

The other part, sadly, is that I am so out of this fandom now. I feel so disconnected from it. Therefore I am not motivated to write fanfiction and it's a struggle to get back into the universe.

I think writing it at this faster pace may be the only way for me to finish _Amnesia_. I'm sorry if that doesn't suit you as a reader – I know up until these last two chapters it's been very slow. But feel free to leave your feedback on how it's developed; I'd hate to upset you all when we're so close to the end.

I actually only have 5k words of prewritten notes and scenes left that apply to plot points that might actually happen. Who knows, this time when I say there isn't much left, there actually might not be.

Thanks for reading. Oh, and thanks for 200 reviews and all your kind support! :)


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